


The Princess and the Sorceress

by Loriela



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Beast Island, Endgame Glitra, F/F, Flashbacks, Mental Link, Sorceress Catra, and emo Catra, beast island is basically dagobah, featuring very lonely Micah, not even the timeline is straight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-03-17 00:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18954202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loriela/pseuds/Loriela
Summary: Catra is the only person other than She-ra to ever escape Beast Island on their own, but she plans on changing that.Catra is also even more lonely and bitter than she was before, but Glimmer has a plan for that too.A little personal challenge to get me out of my comfort zoneLet's see how this ends up





	1. Accident

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoy this fic consider checking out my tumblr (shera-dnd.tumblr.com) for more SPOP goodness

It had been a few months since their battle at the Northern Reach, since they last saw Catra and Adora was growing more and more stressed by the day. She still pretends that she is just worried Catra may be planning something, but they all knew that wasn’t true. Adora cared for her and she worried something happened to her best friend.

‘Best friend’ the words sounded odd in Glimmer’s mind. Her relationship with Bow and Adora had always been so straightforward, she didn’t have to worry if they were really friends or if she was being manipulated and she never had to worry about the three of them trying to kill each other on a weekly basis, but even with all of that Adora still considered Catra her best friend.

Glimmer didn’t understand this one bit, but she also didn’t have to. She knew Adora was upset and that she had to do something about it, that was all she had to know. So she offered to do the one thing that she knew always cheered Adora up: sparring matches.

And when Glimmer got up off the ground for the fifth time in the last half hour she was just happy that her friend was able to put her worries aside, she was clearly not frustrated at all that she couldn’t get a single hit in against Adora.

“Woohoo! You can do it Glimmer!” Bow cheered from the edge of the castle’s training grounds. He waved around a pair of small flags with little drawings of their faces and in any other circumstances that would be adorable, but right now Glimmer really just needed to focus on the task at hand.

“Can we lift the no magic rule? I’m at a serious disadvantage here” It felt like admitting a small defeat, but it was still better than getting beat up by Adora a sixth time.

“Only if I’m allowed to turn into She-ra. Think you’re up for that?” Adora asked cockly as she went to pick up her sword.

With a challenge like that how could Glimmer say no? “Oh it’s on” she said, promptly laughing at her own competitiveness “Just let me grab my staff real quick and you’re going down” She extended her and called the staff to her, it appeared in an instant with a flash of pink light and disappeared in the next with a strange red glow.

“What was that?” Bow asked, moving close to her to see if everything was okay.

“It’s nothing Bow, I’ll just try again” Glimmer said casually, trying to hide the fact that she was freaking out a bit. She called the staff again, but this time it didn’t show up. It felt like something was weighing it down, holding it in place. That didn’t matter, Glimmer just had to pull harder, yank her father’s staff free of whatever got a hold of it. She quickly regretted that decision.

Her magic rapidly drained away into the staff, more than she had ever used in any single teleport, as she felt it travel what she could only assume where thousands of kilometers, bringing along whatever was still attached to it, but somehow it made the trip easier instead of harder, like it was powering the teleport along with her. She would have had plenty of question about all that was transpiring, but at that moment all she could do was scream.

Adora and Bow ran towards her for support, but were both blasted away as the staff returned in an explosion of red and pink energy. Glimmer doubled over, still holding on to it, trying to catch her breath. Next to her another figure did the same.

Catra shakingly held the staff in both hands as she tried to recover from the shock. Her hair had been cut short, her face had a couple of new scars and she wore a long coat instead of her old horde uniform, but that was still clearly a very shaken and confused Catra.

* * *

Two days after she lost Shadow Weaver Catra woke up alone in a clearing in the middle of a jungle. It didn’t take long to understand where she was. Beast Island, the place where Horde exiles go to die. Catra could ponder on the reason why she was sent there, on her past mistakes or if she should’ve done things differently, but right now she knew she had to focus on one thing

She had to survive

The first few days were the most difficult, she nearly died more than once trying to keep her distance from things that were much much bigger than her, trying to stay alive when everything wanted her dead and making the best out of the worst situation imaginable. It all reminded her of home in a messed up way.

But after a time it became habit, she knew where to gather food and where to sleep, she knew what places to avoid and when the bigger and meaner beasts would hunt. After a couple of weeks in the jungle her mind was allowed to wander again and Catra wished she was fighting for her life again.

At night she struggled to sleep. She could still feel Shadow Weaver’s touch in her hair, that one moment of vulnerability that she would never allow herself to have again and that kept her awake. One night she finally had enough, she dragged herself to a river and cut her hair short with a stone knife she had fashioned days ago. She stood there, examining her reflection under the moonlight, for a long time and she would’ve stayed much longer had something not broken that fragile peace. Something big.

A deafening shriek brought Catra to her knees. The ground shook beneath her, not from the sound, but from the many giant beasts fleeing from whatever that was. She stared into the river once more, but now something else was reflected along with her face, a winged beast almost large enough to eclipse the moon. A dragon.

Catra bolted into the jungle, hoping that the trees would make for enough cover. They didn’t. A pair of claws large enough to carry a tank broke through the treetops and nearly thore a piece out of her. Why was that stupid thing coming after her? There was no way she would make for a good meal.

She ran faster than she had ever ran before and longer than she could keep track. Were it not for the adrenaline pumping through her she would have colapted a long time ago. She had lost any sense of direction at this point, all she knew is that she had to keep running and running and-

Catra almost couldn’t stop herself in time. She was standing before a precipice, beneath her was a river full of rocks and above her a winged monstrosity that wanted her dead. At this point she just couldn’t even feel scared anymore, she just resigned herself and leapt.

The waters were cold, the rocks were sharp, but she was alive.

* * *

“For the honor of Grayskull” Adora shouted, snapping Glimmer and Catra out of their confusion, Catra yanked the staff out of Glimmer’s hands and pushed her aside. The look of exhaustion she carried was quickly replaced by one of determination. The staff pulsing with a red glow as she steeled herself.

She-ra rushed towards Catra ready to strike her down, but Catra was always faster and her weapon had more range, when it made contact with the pit of She-ra’s stomach it released that strange glow straight into her body and sent her flying several meters in the air. When she crashed she was gasping for air and had reverted back to Adora.

Glimmer couldn’t believe any of this. Catra had somehow invaded Brightmoon castle, struck down She-ra in one hit and was using magic. The worst part is that Catra seemed just as surprised by all of this, like she had somehow accidentally done all of that. She just stared at the staff in her hands - Micah’s staff - in awe.

That was probably a bad tactical decision on her part, since it let Bow hit her with a net-arrow and call the guards. Next thing she knew she was tied up at the war council, surrounded by an angry Angella and a very amused Castaspella.

Catra tried to keep it all casual like usual, sitting like she had been invited for dinner. When her captors entered the room she nodded towards them “Bow, Adora, Sparkles. It’s very nice seeing you all again, but I kinda have some work to do right now, so if you could-”

“You won’t be going anywhere” Queen Angella interrupted her “Not until you explain how and why you did everything you just did”

“Would you believe me if I said this was all just a big misunderstanding?” Catra tried

“Cut the crap, Catra!” Adora slammed her fists on the table “Just tell us how you did it”

“Sorry, princess, I already did. It was all one big accident” she gestured towards her restraints with her head “Now if you can get me out of these and bring me my staff I’ll be out of your hair in no time”

“Your staff?!” Glimmer shouted, more as an accusation than as a question.

“That would be my husband’s staff” Angella’s voice was heavy with barely contained rage

“Yeah I know, but Micah did say I could use it so I’m going to” Catra stated matter-of-factly.

The three of them rose to their feet, ready to shout and ask questions, but Angella raised one hand and they all sat down again “You’re telling me that not only is my husband alive, but that you know where he is and that he allowed you to use his magic staff?”

“Yes, what is so hard to understand?” Catra was starting to get annoyed “He is alive, he is in Beast Island, he taught me magic and he was about to give me the staff when all of this happened. Now if you let me go I have a stupid old man to save”

“You can’t expect us to just believe you” It was Adora’s turn to be angry now, but Glimmer held her back. All this time she just couldn’t shake this strange feeling that Catra was somehow being sincere, even with all the absolutely insane things she was saying, Glimmer was completely sure Catra was being honest 

“I believe her”

The queen gave her a confused look “Are you sure about that, Glimmer? I know it is tempting to think that your father is still alive, but we can’t just believe anyone who says that, especially a Horde soldier”

“Former Horde soldier” Catra corrected

“Are there any more bombs you forgot to drop or are you just gonna wait to casually announce everything mid conversation?” Adora was starting to get really annoyed.

Catra shrugged “Nothing comes to mind right now” 

“Argh, you two shut up” Glimmer shouted “Sorry, but I know Catra is telling the truth. She may be an insufferable asshole, but I don’t think she is lying”

“For what it’s worth I trust her too” Castaspella announced, Angella raised an eyebrow at her “Oh come on, tell me this isn’t exactly the kind of baffling scenarios Micah put us through all the time? And I can always retrace Catra’s magic signature and see where it leads anyway. We’ll just have to keep her around for a few days until I can get the ritual ready. You think you three can handle that?”

Glimmer looked at her friends and then at Catra. They all gave her their best supporting smiles and Catra gave her a very mischievous look. That girl was gonna be a pain in her ass “Yeah, we can do it”

The queen let out a tired sigh “She is not to be allowed to wander this castle unsupervised or to leave the castle. You three keep an eye on her until Casta is done with the preparations and if she step out of line once I’ll have her sent to the dungeons immediately”

“I already told you where he is, but I can play by your rules if that is what it takes” Catra shrugged again

Adora stared her down again “Like we’d trust a word you said”

“I love it when you get aggressive like that” Catra teased “I'm used to you not trusting me, but Sparkles must feel devastated. Don't you trust her judgement?”

Glimmer sighed as the two bickered. This would be a long week.


	2. Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra makes an unexpected friend and rekindles old rivalries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me and this fic have a love hate relationship, but I guess that is what happens when you set a fic up as a personal challenge
> 
> and while we're here AWAKEN MY MASTERS (like I could write a chapter with that name and NOT make a JoJo reference)

Catra woke up to the distant sound of running water. Her limbs ached and her body felt like fire. She gasped for air and felt an excruciating stab against her lungs, her grunts of pain enough to get the attention of whoever else was with her, for she heard a voice coming towards her “Hold on, you can get through this. Just drink this” She felt something come into contact with her mouth and, in her disoriented haze, simply followed the instructions, only as she slowly fell asleep again did she question if that was a wise decision.

Catra would wake up many times in that state, too dazed to comprehend her surroundings, but that voice was always there to take care of her. She didn’t know for how long this went on, but one day she woke up hungry and slightly sore, but free of any pains or fever.

She slowly and carefully got up and took in her surroundings. The hut that she found herself in was built with the salvage of what could’ve only been a dozen shipwrecks. Metal, wood and cloth from all over Etheria either formed or decorated every inch of it, from the bed she slept in to the cooking pot, the chairs and the very walls and ceiling.

She walked around a bit to find that there was still some soup left in the pot and a little sign that said “In case you wake up”. Catra was never one to reject free food, especially in the state she was in, so she made herself at home. Her meal was fast, loud and messy, she was too hungry to consider any manners and there was no one around here to judge. At least she hoped so.

“I see you liked my soup. It’s an old family recipe” Called a kind voice from behind her. She turned around to see an old man, hunched over and slowly limping towards her with his walking stick, his frame covered by a gray cloak “It’s good to see you up and about, for a moment there I was afraid I would have no one to talk to”

Catra wiped her face with the hem of her shirt before asking “That is why you did it? All this effort to keep me alive just to have someone to talk to?” she was understandably confused by her situation “Are you that bored?”

The man simply smiled “You have an odd way of thanking people” Catra did not like that comment one bit “Yes, I’m very bored, but that is not why I took care of you” The man laughed with genuine joy. He was unbearably joyful. 

“I was not thanking” Catra stated “and if you did all that just to guilt trip me into working for you or whatever you’re trying to pull it won’t work”

Another laughter caused Catra to groan “Can’t I’ve done it out of the goodness of my heart?” Catra raised an eyebrow “I guess the Fright Zone isn’t exactly full of kind hearted people. Then let’s just say I did it to have someone to talk to”

Now that she was no longer at risk of dying, Catra’s usually suspicious and antisocial nature returned in full force “Yeah, about that. Thanks for the help and all that, but I don’t plan on hanging around. I’m just gonna finish my meal and get my ass out of here”

“I do realize that the prospect of finding that nasty beasty again isn’t as scary as listening to an old man talk” At least the guy was self aware “but I’ve lived in this island for quite some time and I’m sure that even a seasoned soldier like yourself can pick up a few tricks”

“Hard pass on any tips, tricks or ‘valuable life lessons’ you’d like to impart while I recover. In fact I’m already feeling great” Catra state as she began searching for her stuff before turning to leave. She was not gonna befriend an old weirdo she found in the middle of the jungle. There was no way a frail old man could survive all this time by just being nice.

“I understand.” The man nodded “You have every right to be distrustful or even angry at your situation, but if you ever feel the need you can always come visit. You’ve lost plenty already, perhaps gaining something could do you well. Even if it’s just a roof over your head”

Catra sighed “I’ll consider visiting if I need to” she stepped through the door and back into the wilds “Name is Catra, by the way”

“Micah” 

Strange name. Catra could swear she heard it before, she just wasn’t sure when.

* * *

Catra woke up to the distant sound of running water. She still could not believe some of the rooms in this place had an inbuilt waterfall, she was just grateful her room wasn’t one of those. It was probably the fanciest cell she ever slept on - besides Beast Island itself - it was large and well decorated. All the doors and windows were locked and any cutting implements were removed, but that was the least she expected.

Of course she could summon the staff to her, burst through a wall and just flee the castle before anyone could stop her, but she gained nothing by angering her hosts. She could still sense the staff at the edge of her mind, like she could just extend her hand and grab it, but she also felt another hand holding it tightly, Glimmer’s hand. She wondered for a moment if she could use that to mess with the princess for a bit, but ultimately chose just to do her morning exercise. 

Catra searched the room for any small objects she could easily move around. Settling for a trio of what she could only describe as ‘decorative rocks’, she sat down on her usual meditative stance and began her usual work out. The rocks pulsed with a red light as they rose from the ground and began swirling around each other in complex patterns. It helped with focus, control and precise movements. Things she had to master if she didn’t want to accidentally open craters with her new Magical Focus.

She was halfway through her last set when someone barged into the room unannounced, breaking her concentration. All three of the rocks promptly dropped on her head as to punctuate her frustration “Didn’t anyone teach you how to knock?” Catra shouted without even looking at the door.

“Not really” came a too familiar voice. Adora walked into the room and began looking around, probably searching for some secret escape route or trap Catra had set up “Queen Angella wanted me to bring your breakfast. Said she wanted you to enjoy your first proper meal. Not Horde rations or whatever you ate in beast island”

“Sure, just leave it here” Catra waved her off as she sat back down “I’ll eat after I’m done practicing”

“So...” Adora began, placing Catra’s food platter on a table “What exactly happened these last few months?”

“Weaver escaped, Hordak banished me, I almost died a couple of times, now I’m a sorceress” Catra casually listed off “Can you leave the interrogation for later?”

“I’m not interrogating you! I-” Adora paused to calm herself “I was just worried”

“I’m sure you were” Catra said without paying much attention.

“Seriously?!” She shouted and the rocks dropped again “Is it so hard to believe that I care about you?”

“It isn’t” Catra sighed and began picking the rocks up “Is it so hard to accept that I don’t want you to?”

“It is” Adora insisted “Catra, this could be a new start for you. Free from Shadow Weaver and from the Horde and I want to help you make this work”

“But never free from you” Catra muttered “Thank the queen for the free food. Send sparkles or archer boy to pick me up later”

Adora clearly wanted to continue this discussion, but chose not to press her for now “Okay. I’ll give you your space” she said tiredly, before walking away, not even closing the door behind her. She knew Catra would have escaped if she wanted to.

Catra didn’t try to continue her exercises, she knew she was too worked up now to focus on that stuff, so she sat by the table and decided to give her breakfast a try. Couldn’t be worse than Snorter stew.

* * *

“I know you don’t want to send her to the dungeon, but why does she have to have lunch with us? Can’t we just keep her locked in that room like a normal prisoner?” Glimmer pleaded to her mother. She couldn’t bear to spend a full meal with that disaster of a person.

“Glimmer, she is not a prisoner. She is a guest” Angella answered for the hundredth time this morning “Besides, how would you feel if it turns out she was saying the truth and you treated Micah’s savior like that”

“Couldn’t you be pissed with her again? I liked it better back then” Her mother just stared at her and Glimmer gave up “Fine!”

Glimmer’s morning hadn’t been the best, she was stressed and angry since she woke up and she wasn’t even sure why. Okay, it made sense to be angry at that whole Catra situation and everything that happened yesterday - especially because she could still feel Catra’s claws on her staff - but it just felt like she woke up tired and stressed. Now she didn’t even get to have a nice meal with her friends to help her cool down.

It did not help that the first thing she saw as they entered the dining room was Catra sitting on Glimmer’s usual spot, right next to Bow, who was happily chatting away with her for some reason. Did everyone here forget that this woman was a menace? At least Adora looked as miserable as her about all this.

“How long are we gonna have to deal with this?” Glimmer asked as she sat down next to Adora.

“Castaspella said it would take a few days, so my guess is as good as yours” She answered quietly.

“I don’t really want to antagonize her in case she is telling the truth, but isn’t this a little too much?”

“I can hear you two, you know?” Catra commented from the other end of the table “But if it makes you any happier I also think this is too much. What exactly are you planning here,‘Oh benevolent queen?’”

Angella seemed to ignore the mockery of Catra’s words “I’m not planning anything here, Catra” She calmly stated “When Adora came here she had a sword and the promise that she would do her best to help us and I accepted her among us, I don’t see why I shouldn’t offer you the same chance”

“Huh” was all Catra said at first, she considered the queen’s words for a few moments and Glimmer felt something familiar about all this, but she couldn’t quite understand what “Thank you for your kindness, I’ll try to repay you however I can”

Glimmer pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming and Adora looked like she had watched Mara herself drop by to have lunch with them. Catra’s ‘gratefulness’ was surreal to the both of them, but Angella, who never had to deal with her, simply smiled and nodded. Bow, of course, was ecstatic watching Catra being nice for once.

The rest of the meal happened mostly in silence. ‘Mostly’ because neither Catra nor Adora ever learned any table manners. They both just attacked their food like it was the first meal they had in years and from the glint in Catra’s eyes Glimmer knew it was at least the best mean she had in years. It was the same look Adora had the day that they met her. The memory brought a smile to Glimmer’s face.

“What are you smiling for, Sparkles?” Catra asked, but for once the nickname did not sound mean spirited as Catra herself was struggling against a smile.

“What are you smiling for?” Glimmer teased “Weren’t you all solem ‘I’ll repay you however I can’ just a moment ago?”

“Weren’t you all broody a moment ago too?” Catra teased back

“Unlike some people I can stop brooding whenever I want to” Glimmer responded with a smile, not a friendly smile, but one that issued a challenge.

“Please, that wasn’t even brooding” Catra laughed “I’m not sure if you’re aware, princess, but people can express happiness without shooting glitter everywhere” Catra smiled back. The challenge was accepted.

Their back and forth continued for the remainder of the meal. Their friends staring in silence at the ever evolving banter that unfolded before them “Meet me at the training grounds then, furball” Glimmer challenged, the smile defiant smile never leaving her face.

“Bring it on, sunshine” Catra answered, already getting up.

They both quickly left the room, their conversation never slowing down for a second

“Good to see they became such fast friends” Queen Angella stated “But you two should probably make sure they don’t actually hurt each other”

And with that, Adora and Bow ran after their two belligerent friends.

* * *

That night a storm hit Beast Island and Catra was forced to return to the only real shelter she knew of. The next night Catra caught a glimpse of the dragon and retreated to a safe place. The night after that she caught a snorter and needed a good place to cook it. After that she stopped making excuses. She liked having a roof over her head and a warm bed to lay on. Micah never asked for reasons anyway, he was just glad to have someone to talk to and did he talk.

He talked about the wonders of Brightmoon and how much he missed his life with his wife and daughter, those ramblings Catra could tune out easily, the problem came when he began asking questions. Catra just ignored him at first, but doing so only prompted him to make guesses and they were always uncomfortably precise.

“So what do you want, Catra?” Micah asked as he prepared their next meal

“I want you to cook in silence for once” She answered tiredly, turning around on the hammock they had set up “and to get out of this damn island”

“I meant more long term” he clarified “Let’s say you managed to get back to the mainland tomorrow, what would you do then?”

“I don’t know” Catra shrugged “The Rebellion hates me and the Horde wants me dead. I would probably find some place away from this mess and try being alone for once” She emphasized those last words to make sure he understood his company was not welcomed. Micah promptly ignored that.

He pondered for a bit “I don’t see that working out for you”

“And why is that?” Catra asked, getting up from the hammock

“One side is gonna have to win this war eventually, right? Could you see the Horde settling for anything less than complete domination?” Catra couldn’t argue with that “So whoever wins isn’t gonna be a big fan of you and there won’t be many places to live alone after that”

“So what?!” she shouted “I’m doomed no matter whoever wins, like I didn't know that. I just wanna enjoy whatever time I have, preferably without some crazy old man and far away from this stupid island with its stupid dragon”

As if to fill the silence, the dragon’s roar echoed in the distance. Catra was frustrated, she had known for a long time now that she would not get a happy ending no matter where she was or what she did. She would either die on this island or become a casualty of war. Even before that she had accepted that her chances of happiness were slim at best.

Micah was completely unphased as he served her her stew “Anything else you’d like to get out?” He asked calmly.

“Fuck you!”

He seemed pleased with the answer “Well, you could always choose a side” He shrugged “You could try going back home to the Horde, where things are awful, but familiar or try a new beginning”

Catra scoffed “With the princesses? No, thank you”

“They are not as bad as they seem” he laughed “Just like most Horde soldiers I met here, they are just people. The side of the war they ended up in doesn’t change that”

“Okay, let’s say I go completely insane and decide that I should join that tea party” She wasn’t really considering it, she just wanted this conversation to end “Do you really think they’ll just let me show up and pretend nothing ever happened, that they’ll just let me join the team like I haven’t tried killing them half a dozen times?”

“I don’t know” he answered plainly “How did your friend do it?”

“She is not my friend, and she had to turn into freaking She-ra!”

“She proved to be a valuable asset and offered something for her stay. Other than that the princesses only had her word to work with. Maybe if you found something like that they would welcome you with open arms. Try learning magic or finding the lost king of Brightmoon, I’m sure something like that would work” Micah said with a playful smile, a smile of someone who knew more than they showed.

“Like that would ever-” Catra stopped herself and facepalmed as realisation dawned on her “Rebellion royalty was covered in force captain orientation, wasn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the return of the "Force Captain Orientation" gag
> 
> If you enjoy this fic consider checking out my tumblr (shera-dnd.tumblr.com) for more SPOP goodness


	3. Trying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra tries to learn her first spells and Glimmer makes a terrible mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love that classic anime trope of beating the friendship into each other
> 
> this chapter is also rated A for angst

Catra took a deep breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. Empty your mind and just feel. Just feel the world around you. She could do it. Feel the world. Feel….feel that annoying itch on her nose, feel the cramps she is gonna get from sitting in this stupid position, feel the cold and uncomfortable stone against her ass. Just freaking feel.

“Not working, is it?” Micah called and she opened her eyes.

“How can you tell?” Catra asked, annoyed. She broke her meditative position and stretched for the first time in what felt like hours, but from the position of the sun it was probably just minutes. Great!

“My sorcerous intuition, of course” He boasted jokingly “That and you looked like you wanted to strangle someone”

Catra was still not over Micah’s ‘big reveal’. Not only was he the lost sorcerer king of Brightmoon - a very stupid title if you asked her - but he was also not even as old has he looked. He just straightened his back, tossed away the grey cloak and here he was, a sorcerer of Mystacor.

“That is because I do want to strangle someone” She said, trying to sound threatening. It failed.

“Hey, we get through this part of training and I’ll teach you how to do that without even being in the same room as the other person. What do you think?” He offered and she very much doubted he would do that.

“As tempting as the offer is, it isn’t just gonna make me better at this whole meditation bullshit” Frustration clear in her voice “How am I supposed to sense stuff I don’t know, with a sense I didn’t even know I had?”

“Back in Mystacor we would have massive sources of magical energy. Our students could feel it even without any training and that way they learned to recognize the magic that emanated from and permeated everything” He pondered for a few seconds “I have an idea, trying sensing me”

“How would that help?”

“Just do it, okay?”

They both sat back down and Catra tried to meditate again. She tried to ‘extend her senses’, to let the magic inside her feel the magic inside everything or whatever other bullshit explanation they had for this. Now she tried to focus on Micah, on the form directly in front of her and once again she felt nothing.

“Nothing. Again!”

“Hold on, sit back down. That isn’t the whole thing” She sat down one more time and he continued “Try feeling for the edges now. Where I end and the world begins. The air in my lungs, the rock under my body. Try feeling for that difference. If you sense nothing, then what am I missing?”

She shut her eyes one last time and focused. She felt nothing from Micah, but the more she stared at that nothing the more other things began grabbing her attention. At first it felt like static, like background noise surrounding her, but it slowly began taking shape. The wind moved it around, the earth formed veins of it, the plants emanated it and Catra radiated it like a beacon, but Micah was empty, he was a black void where magic dared not enter.

“What happened to you?” Catra asked, still in awe at what she had just experienced.

“Let’s say yours isn’t the only life Shadow Weaver made harder. I guess that’s something we can bond over” He stated casually “Come on, let’s practice this some more and then you can learn some real magic”

* * *

Bow and Adora reached the training grounds to find it already trashed by the two magical rivals. Red lightning and pink sparkles scraping by each other, but never meeting. Glimmer’s teleportation and Catra’s sheer agility made sure that the grounds suffered most of the damage. That was until Glimmer was promptly tossed several feet in the air, straight against Adora.

“Thanks for the catch” She said quickly, before teleporting away.

“I’m stopping this right now” Adora announced as she stomped towards the two of them. At this rate they would end up doing some serious harm to each other, at best.

“Adora, wait!” Bow held her back “I think that is their way of becoming friends. We shouldn’t interrupt them”

“What? How is tossing someone supposed to make them your friends?” She knew Catra had a ‘peculiar’ way of showing affection, but she wasn’t about to let her two best friends kill each other.

“Well, you kinda did that to Glimmer and me when we first met” He said awkwardly, knowing their first encounter wasn’t exactly Adora’s finest moment.

“Ok fine, but how do you know they are not actually trying to hurt each other?” As if to emphasize her point, one of Glimmer’s glitter blasts exploded against a nearby wall.

“Just look at them” he gestured towards the two of them “They are smiling. When was the last time you saw Catra smile like that? I know I’ve never seen it”

Adora looked back to the center of the training grounds. Bow was right, they were both smiling. Through all the dirt and the sweat they just looked like they were having fun, in their own bizarre way. It put her somewhat at ease to know this really was Catra showing affection “I’m still keeping an eye on the both of them just to be sure”

And so it continued, their mock battle escalating until they were both down on the floor, too exhausted to keep up. 

“Well, princess, that was satisfying” Catra joked “You have to teach Adora to fight like that, she is hardly ever this fun anymore”

Glimmer wiped the sweat from her forehead “Are you seriously asking me to teach Adora how to fight?”

“What can I say? I prefer an angry jellybean who is trying her best, over a high and mighty princess who doesn’t even wanna be there” Catra sighed and began to get up.

“First of all, I am not a jellybean” Glimmer stated as she also tried to get up. Her knees failed for a moment, but Catra held her back up “And second of all, you’re her best friend, she doesn’t want to hurt you”

Catra averted her eyes, her smile stripped away “A little late for that” She helped Glimmer up and the next time the princess could see her face again her mischievous smile had returned “Also you’re small, brightly colored and too sweet for me. You’re absolutely a jellybean”

At the edge of the training grounds Adora finally relaxed, hearing her friends laughing and playfully yelling at one another - and the occasional shout of ‘jellybean’ for some reason - They really did become friends after all.

* * *

“Now that you know how to sense magic you gotta learn how to give it shape” Micah announced as they continued their march through the jungle. He refused to say where they were going, but at this point Catra was used to it “All those fancy hand gestures, strange rituals and weird materials are all meant to shape that energy in whatever way we need. The more complex the spell the more stuff you gotta do to make it work”

“I guess that makes sense” Catra commented absentmindedly “That is probably the most clear information you’ve ever given me”

“You can’t graduate from Mystacor without some good grades in ‘being annoyingly vague’” He joked “My sister was never good at those. Kicked my ass in everything else though” A soft smile spread through his face as he reminisced.

“Since you’re in a sharing mood, how about you tell me where you’re dragging me to”

“Patience, my young apprentice. All will be revealed in time” He state, trying to keep a serious face.

“Never call me that ever again!” Catra complained.

“Point taken and we’re already here anyway” He said while moving away some branches to reveal a large pond with an island at its center. He took one of the bags he was carrying and gave it a nice throw towards the center island “That was our lunch. Your lesson today will be getting that back”

“What!?” Catra shouted

Micah simply smiled and handed her a scroll “A levitation spell. Let’s see how long it takes for you to get our food back”

“Are you kidding me!?” Catra’s tone did not lower

“I’m not” he simply stated “You were tired of boring theoric classes, so I decided to take you for some field training and hunger has always been a strong motivator”

“You just expect me to learn this spell today?” 

“Actually if you could learn it before noon that would be great” He said, sitting down on a nearby rock “But please take as long as you need. I had a very robust breakfast”

Catra wanted to yell at him for pulling this kind of bullshit on her, but she knew it was best to put her efforts into getting their food back “It can’t be that hard” she said as she opened the scroll. She was mistaken.

* * *

Glimmer woke up feeling sore, but in a good way. She was never much into this whole combat practice thing like Adora, but for some reason that last session yesterday had been really fun, she actually enjoyed fighting Catra. No, that made her sound like she liked punching her - which was still true, but not the reason why it felt like that - she couldn’t quite put her finger on what made her so happy, but she wasn’t about to question a good mood and another fast friend.

Glimmer teleported down from her bed and began her morning routine. It was all quick and simple, just a way to be sure she would be looking as good as she felt and after she was done she grabbed her staff and posed a few times in front of her mirror “Hey, Catra” she tried and immediately began to giggle. She was so glad no one was there to see her doing this.

She twirled the staff around a couple of times. It still felt weird, like Catra’s weight was still pulling it down, like her claws were still wrapped around it. Glimmer wondered what it would feel like to hold those claws in her hand - not in real life of course - so she tried. She moved her mind through the scepter to where she could feel the edges of Catra’s mind and gave it a tentative touch. 

_“I’m just worried about you” Adora said for the millionth time._

_“I know!” Catra shouted back, she was tired of this. Did Adora think she was blind or something? “You never let me forget that”_

_“Then why won’t you just let me help you?” The golden fucking question from the golden fucking child._

_“Because I don’t need your help, Adora. I can handle things just fine” She allowed her magic to flow around her as to make a point “and even if I didn’t I wouldn’t want it either”_

_“Look, I’ve been thinking a lot lately” Had she now? “and I know that what I did was wrong and that I shouldn’t have put you in that situation, but we’ve both moved on from that, we can have a fresh start”_

_Catra took a deep breath, there were way too many things to say to that. She wanted this, she wanted to just ignore everything that had happened to them, pretend it never happened and just be with Adora, but she also wanted her to pay, she wanted her to know the hell she went through and she wanted to be free from her, to be her own person, but she couldn’t just explain all this to her, Adora would just take it all on her shoulders again and they would just get deeper into this mess._

  


Just tell her how you really feel. Be open and she will understand.

  


_She had to address the reason the reason why she was always so adamant about all this, otherwise she wouldn’t understand._

_“I can’t be with you, Adora” Catra said as bluntly as she could_

_“Then we’ll find you some other place for you to stay. You’ll probably like Mermista or-”_

_“No! Adora, I cannot be with you. No matter how much you want to, no matter how much I want to, we cannot be together” She tried to be as clear as she could without saying the words._

_  
_

_“Oh” was all the response that she got. For while they remained in silence until Adora spoke again “Why?”_

_“Because we’re two huge messes, Adora, and if we try this we’ll just hurt each other more than we already have” Catra stopped, trying to hold back the wave of emotions “I want to help people, I want to be with the Rebellion and I want to be with you, but...but things are never that simple”_

_Adora wanted to argue, to shout, to defend her love for Catra. Catra knew all this, she could read Adora like an open book and she knew Adora could do the same if she allowed her, so she did. Adora stopped before a single word escaped her mouth, whatever she did now would only make things worse, whatever she did to Catra would only make things worse. She shut her eyes to suppress her tears “I’ll give you your space” was the last thing she said before leaving._

_Now Catra was alone again and she hated herself for it. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry until the day was over, but she couldn’t allow herself to show weakness, she had to be stronger or all of this would be for nothing._

What had she done? Glimmer had watched it all through Catra’s eyes. Something that would be a major attack on her privacy in the best of situations, but she had to do it when Catra was what her most vulnerable and worse even, she somehow influenced her decisions at a very critical moment. Their mutual link through the staff was scarily strong and Glimmer had no idea how to bring it up to Catra or aunt Casta without revealing she messed things up. Of course all this had to happen right when they started to tolerate each other. Wait, was all that a side effect of that link? It didn’t matter, that didn’t change what she had to do.

She would just have to be very nice to Catra, try to casually bring it up to her aunt and hope that maybe there’ll be a Horde attack and they’ll have to leave before things got awkward. Oh who was she kidding? She was doomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to address the Catradora issue eventually
> 
> This is not the end of that subplot, but I hope I've handled it well so far


	4. Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra messes up, Adora loses her temper and Glimmer tries to fix things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By combining her powers with Glimmer's Catra has doubled her self loathing

It was mid afternoon and Catra was both hungry and tired. She had memorized every word and symbol on that scroll, meditated several times and attempted the magical signs over and over again, but that stupid bag would not move.

“Isn’t there any other way?” She asked, not even trying to hide her annoyance.

“There is.” Micah did not move from his meditative stance nor did he open his eyes to answer her. “You could always just force your own magical energy onto the world and will it to obey you.”

“And why am I not learning to do that? We would have had our meals already if I learned it that way.” Catra complained

“You probably wouldn’t enjoy the side effects” He shrugged “It was Light Spinner’s way of doing things after all.”

Catra groaned at the mention of that name. Of course that was her way of doing stuff. That woman couldn’t fathom the idea of things going against her wishes and ‘letting things flow’ would never have crossed her mind. It made Catra sick to think she could ever do things her way.

“The method isn’t really the problem, but the mentality behind it” He got up as he began explaining “It was what drove her to do what she did. Even when she tried to do good she couldn’t do it without imposing her will upon others.”

“Yes, Shadow Weaver is an awful person. Nothing new here” She said annoyedly and continued trying to make the bag levitate.

Micah sighed "Life lessons aside, we still have to find out why you can't cast this spell” He pondered for a few seconds “Must be something psychological. The way you usually do things doesn’t match the way you want to cast this spell.”

“Am I have to go through a therapy session every time I want to learn a new spell?” Catra sighed, this whole magic deal was looking less worth while by the minute.

“Probably not” Micah shrugged “But let’s focus on the now. Think about how your spell is failing and find out how to change that. Brute forcing won’t get you anywhere”

Catra took a deep breath and dried one more time. She pulled in the energy of the world around her and tried to give it shape. It felt so strange to have something flowing through her, it was too close, too personal. She tried moving it, but it all was just pushed away and the spell fizzled.

She suddenly became very aware of what may be causing this and there was no way she was going to tell Micah what that was. She didn't need him acting like a freaking therapist every time she struggled with something. She just had to fight her basest instinct and let something unknown come close to her and not reject it. No problem, right?

She tried once and it failed, twice and it failed, three times and it failed again. Brute force would not work, she reminded herself. She had to find another way a way of tricking herself into doing this. She shut her eyes and tried a fourth time, but this time she didn’t clear her mind. She focused as much as she could on Entrapta and Scorpia. People who cared for her and who Catra cared for - as much as she hated to admit - people she wouldn’t push away.

For a moment Catra felt the spell working, magic flowed through her and she felt alive like she never felt before, like something clicked in her mind and it just felt right, but in her distraction someone else took over her thoughts. Adora smiled at her from the depths of her mind and the spell broke.

“Fuck!” Catra shouted as she jumped up to her feet. She was ready to throw a tantrum over all this bullshit, but was interrupted by the food bag falling right on her hands “What?”

“I was worried you would end up sending our food to the moons there.” Micah joked “I’m not sure what you did, but I’m glad it worked. How about you get some food and then we can train some more?”

* * *

“Adora has been training to transform that sword for how long now?” Catra asked from outside the training grounds, watching Adora and Glimmer spar. Apparently sparring matches used to be few and far between amongst the ‘best friend squad’, but ever since she showed up they didn’t go a day without training. She knew Adora well enough to understand what that meant. She was stressed, and who could blame her? They admitted their love for each other just for Catra to turn her down.

“Ever since your attack on Brightoom failed.” Bow answered calmly “Oh, sorry for bringing that up.”

Catra shrugged “I deserved that ass kicking. I guess almost dooming the world for the sake of beating Adora was a bit of a dick move.” If anyone stopped to take note of all the awful things she did - and Catra absolutely did take note - they would know her ass deserved a lot more kicking. 

“When you put it like that...” He said awkwardly “But I don’t blame you though. You were in a tough spot and that was your only way out.” Bow’s usual niceness made her feel sick today. Catra did not feel like she deserved anything nice.

They sat there in silence for a while, watching their friends duel it out, before Catra chimed in again. “Adora has zero idea of what she is doing with that sword. How hasn’t Sparkles kicked her ass a dozen times over?” Glimmer had been much more competent when fighting her yesterday, did she tire her out?

“Come on, Adora is our best fighter. Just because you know how to beat her doesn’t mean we all do. Think of it like rock-paper-scissors!” Knew how to beat her? No. Catra knew how to mess with her, but Adora would always beat her. She just never had the courage to deal the final blow.

Catra was doing her best to pretend she wasn’t having a shitty day and for some reason watching Glimmer getting dumpstered was making it very difficult. Glimmer was a princess, she had all the advantages Catra didn’t have before, if only she knew how to use it.

_Glimmer was starting to regret accepting Adora’s challenge today. She knew they both needed to take their minds off of things, but this was starting to get frustrating, even with her magic. She barely got up and She-ra had already changed her sword into a lasso and was yanking Glimmer towards her._

  


Don’t fight it. Realign yourself, teleport and hit her right in the chest.

  


_Glimmer landed feet first against She-ra’s chest, the force of the impact sending her opponent down to the ground. She-ra smiled at her “Good one!” she laughed as she got up and Bow cheered from the sidelines. She noticed Catra had fallen asleep on the bench. Watching Glimmer lose over and over must’ve gotten boring. A shame she would miss the comeback._

  


Stay light on your feet. She-ra is slow and heavy, so try using her weight against her.

  


_What came next was the best fight Glimmer ever put up. With well timed teleports and a few good hits she had quickly taken the advantage and ever more frustrated She-ra was an easy target. She-ra tried tossing her shield at her as a way of forcing her back, but Glimmer nimbly dodged, touching the shield long enough to teleport them both behind She-ra. With the continued momentum, She-ra was taken down by her own projectile._

_Glimmer walked over to her fallen opponent. No longer She-ra, Adora laid down before her. Glimmer lowered herself and gloated “Hey, Adora”_

“Oh no” Catra murmured, getting up from the bench. She looked at Glimmer, who was staring directly at her, her eyes full of shock. Catra had made an awful mistake in front of the worst people possible.

“Catra!” Adora shouted as she got up “What did you do?”

Bow looked between the three of them in confusion “What just happened?”

“I don’t know. I don’t-” Catra tried to explain herself, but Adora was quick to interrupt.

“I’ll tell you what just happened,” Adora marched towards her with rage in her eyes. “Catra took over Glimmer’s body and used her to hurt me!” Had it been a few months ago, Catra would be delighted to inspire so much anger in her foe, but right now she only felt scared. Scared that she had tossed her one chance away.

She didn’t even put up a fight when Adora lifted her by her clothes. Whatever punishment Adora decided to dish out Catra would simply allow. Who was Catra to decide she deserved a happy ending? That she deserved a second chance? She tossed her first one away months ago and now she did the same again. 

Catra didn’t put up a fight, but Glimmer did.

“Adora, wait!” She held Adora’s arms down “Please! She didn’t do it on purpose. It was just an accident!”

“What?” Adora asked, dropping Catra back down “How do you know that?”

“Because...” Glimmer looked away for a moment before “Because I did that to her before...earlier….today.”

Catra felt guilt strike at her heart, but this time it was not her own, it was Glimmer’s. Catra knew what that meant and she didn’t like it. “When me and Adora…”

“Yes.” Glimmer answered quietly, “And I..I think I might have influenced what you said.”

It was all too much, too many feelings going through her head and she didn’t even know which ones were really hers. She couldn’t deal with this, with any of this. So she just ran as fast and as far as she could.

“I did not understand anything that just happened, but I’m sure aunt Castaspella has an explanation for it.“ Bow spoke after witnessing this bizarre scene. “I’ll go explain everything to her and you two go get some rest, okay?”

“I can’t just-”

“Adora, please.” Bow pleaded, “We all need to rest and calm down if we’re going to fix things.”

“What about Catra?”

“We can find her later,” He tried to reassure her. “I don’t think she is going that far.”

* * *

Glimmer never liked being alone. She always had her friends to rely on when she didn’t feel well, but now she felt like being with them would only make it worse. So here she was, all alone in her room. Well, that was not completely true, she could still feel Catra at the edges of her mind, trying to make herself very small.

Glimmer felt bad for her, she didn’t want any of this to happen and now she was stuck here, connected to a girl she probably hates. Glimmer didn’t know if her sudden care for Catra was natural or just a side effect of this weird link they now had, but that didn’t make the flow of emotions she got from her any less intense.

Guilt, pain, sadness, fear and anger. It all flooded her mind no matter how distant Catra tried to be. The fact that their emotions mirrored each other did not help her deal with any of this at all, but she tried her best. Glimmer tried to be optimistic whenever she could, so maybe if she felt better about herself she could make Catra feel better.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening “Sorry to bother, you” it was Adora’s voice. “but I wanted to talk.”

Glimmer gave her a weak smile. “Sure.” And with two quick flashes they were both sitting on her bed.

Adora looked around awkwardly for a moment. “I’m sorry for today.”

“What?” Glimmer should’ve expected this, but it still caught her by surprise

“I should’ve realized you weren’t doing okay, but I was too focused on my own problems. If I didn’t make you fight again maybe you’d have time to talk to aunt Casta or Catra and try to fix things, but-”

“Adora, stop.” Glimmer didn’t like being rude with her friend, but she had to be this time. Or maybe Catra thought she had to, but at this point it was too much of a headache to question it. “You don’t have to apologize to me. I saw what happened this morning and I would probably do the same thing in your place. You and Catra were having a pretty shitty day and I just made it worse by snooping around.”

“But you didn’t do it on purpose.” Adora reassured her “And what would’ve happened if you hadn’t snooped around? If you hadn’t stopped me I would’ve.”

“You wouldn’t.” This time Glimmer was the one to reassure. “You probably would’ve fought again, but you would never hurt her.”

“Except I think I already did!” Adora covered her face in her hands. “Glimmer, I want to help her, to make her feel loved, but every time I try it’s like I’m hurting us both even more.”

“Then stop trying!” Glimmer flopped onto the bed. “And maybe stop trying to toss her around like a rag doll too.”

“Was that Catra?” Adora asked.

“I don’t think it was, but I might be getting some of her sense of humor.” Glimmer groaned, “I don’t wanna start sounding like a smug asshole.”

Adora giggled “I think you two would’ve liked each other,” she said with a smile “if things had been a little different.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Glimmer felt herself calm down a little now that her best friend was next to her again. They may have messed up today, but they would work things out, like they always did. A pang of sadness at the edges of her consciousness reminded her of another person that needed cheering up. “Sorry to kick you out so soon, but I think someone else needs company too.”

* * *

Unlike the Fright Zone, every rooftop in Brightmoon Castle had an amazing view, a fact that Catra would’ve really appreciated if she had learned it at any other moment. Unfortunately, colossally messing things up did sour her mood a little. Feeling Glimmer’s own sadness, pain and guilt wasn’t helping either as Catra was profoundly aware that it was all her fault too. When were things not her fault, really? She tried to blame everything on Adora before, but how did that work out? Left for dead on an island full of monsters. At this point Catra had accepted that maybe happiness wasn’t for her after all.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Glimmer’s voice called from behind her.

“It’s your house, princess.” Catra shrugged and moved aside.

Glimmer sat down at the edge of the roof, facing towards the vast lake between Brightmoon Castle and the Whispering Woods. “I always loved this view.” she commented, and Catra answered with a noncommittal grunt. “Me and Bow used to come here all the time when we were kids. Mom would freak out every time.”

Catra’s lips began to curve up, but the realization that Glimmer’s childhood memories were probably what guided her here kept the smile from fully forming. Catra had to second guess everything now. Which were her decisions and which were Glimmer’s?

“What are you even doing up here, Sparkles?” Catra finally asked.

“I thought you might want some company.” She answered calmly.

“Well, I don’t.” Catra interjected.

“I’m literally inside your mind, Fur Ball, I know that is not true.” Her comment only made Catra feel worse about herself. “And I know that is not your fault.”

“Wow thanks, Sparkles, I feel so much better already.” Catra rolled her eyes, “I don’t need your pity, princess.”

“I’m not pitying you, Catra.” Glimmer rolled her eyes even harder. “You still fucked up, but I fucked up too so I’m not gonna hold it against you.”

Catra smirked, “Little sparkly princess has a potty mouth, what would precious Adora say if she knew you swore more than me?”

“Fuck it.” They both laughed at that. Catra was very aware that this happiness was just Glimmer’s positivity slipping through their mental link, but she couldn’t help but smile. “So what do you think caused all this?”

“Probably me trying to attune to the staff while you were using it.” Catra spoke as she laid down on the roof. “So if I un-attune myself to the staff we should be empathic link free.”

“And how do you do that?” Glimmer asked, laying on the roof herself.

“I have absolutely no idea,” She shrugged “but I’m sure your dad knows. That asshole knows everything.”

“How is he?” Glimmer asked “I mean, what’s he like?”

“You never met him, huh?” Catra thought for a few seconds. There was a lot she could tell her about him, especially considering that she was his daughter, but she decided to go for a different route. If everything worked out, Glimmer would find that out in person. “Imagine the wisest and most caring person you know, now make them a complete dumbass.”

“I guess it runs in the family.” Glimmer giggled and Catra struggled against a smile. “Mom used to tell me stories about him. They never felt really…real to me, but now I might actually get a chance to meet him.”

Catra let out a relieved sigh. She knew the relief she felt was all Glimmer’s, but right now she didn’t feel like complaining. She could go for a day or two without self loathing. She slowly got up and started to stretch.

“Come on, Glimmer, let’s go see if your aunt can help us with this mess and then we have a kingly idiot to rescue.” Catra felt a strange warmth radiating from her chest and she quickly identified it as something Glimmer was feeling. “What?”

“You said my name.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this one
> 
> I really struggled with this chapter, but at this point it's a given
> 
> It ain't much of a personal challenge if writing it isn't challenging


	5. Adjusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Threats are made, Micah sends Catra on a dangerous mission and Glimmer just can't catch a break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gayest chapter so far and right on time for the last day of Pride (in some time zones)
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it

Castaspella had turned the castle’s ballroom into an improvised ritual chamber. It was probably one of the fanciest looking rooms in the entire castle, but it hadn’t been used in a long time. It had been a while since the queen felt like arranging any balls. Now the large room was covered wall to wall in glyphs, insenses and other odd components. Catra never saw a spell like that before, but she could deduce it’s purpose; to track the magical signature of a sorcerer, with a range large enough to reach even Beast Island. It was an intricate creation that only the Head Sorceress of Mystacor could ever concoct on the fly.

“Glimmer, dearest, how have you been?” Castaspella asked as she approached from one of the many unfinished glyphs, she gave them both a quick hug and continued. “Bow told me there had been some complications between you and our guest.”

“Yeah well, me and Catra are kinda.mind linked now.” Glimmer prepared herself to answer so many questions, like ‘how did this happen?’, ‘how did you find out?’, ‘what do you mean mind linked?’, what she didn’t expect was for Aunt Casta to giggle.

“You grow up so fast. Well, I want you to know that I support your relationship, even if it would’ve been nice of you to come talk to me before making these kinds of decisions. Don’t just leave your poor aunt out of the loop like that!” They were both too stunned to interrupt her. “Oh you two look so good together. It’s almost like watching Micah and Angella again.”

Catra looked at Glimmer in extreme confusion and Glimmer did the same. Realization dropped for the two of them simultaneously “No no no no!” they both exclaimed together.

“You think I-”

“With her?”

“We would never”

“That is ridiculous!”

“It was an accident!”

“Oh.” was Castaspella’s only reaction after hearing their combined panic. She blinked a couple of times “That does complicate things.”

“Can you undo that? Like separate our minds again?” Glimmer asked

“I think it began as soon as I was brought to the castle,” Catra continued “So the attunement spell must’ve failed somehow.”

“Oh no, dear, it did exactly what it was meant to do.” Castaspella explained “It was just that by attuning yourself to the staff just as Glimmer was connecting with it, you attuned to her too.”

“So we just have to unattune her, right?” Glimmer asked “We just find out whatever spell dad used and undo it.” Catra groaned and Casta let out a tired sigh. “What?”

“That idiot!” Catra insulted

“What?”

“Glimmer. Your father had an aversion to doing things by the book. No doubt whatever spell he cast was one of his own creation. Unless we can talk to Micah there is no way of separating you two.”

Now it was Glimmer’s turn to groan.

“But there is good news here,” Casta interrupted “do you trust Catra now?”

Glimmer looked into Catra’s eyes. That woman had kidnapped her, tried to kill her on multiple occasions. She once hated her with a burning passion, but right now she knew what her answer was. “Yeah, I trust her.”

“Then there is no need for my ritual.” She said, “Just follow your new friend and you should be good. Just please, next time warn me about these things before I have to argue with your mom over using the ballroom!”

* * *

Catra wandered through the corridors of the castle alone that night. She knew she wasn’t technically allowed to do so, but at this point she doubted there would be any consequences, and she really needed some fresh air. 

After finding out about their link, Catra had begun to review all her interactions with Glimmer since the moment she had been forcefully teleported and she detested the conclusion she had reached. Glimmer was making her happier and she was afraid that the moment they broke their connection she would go back to being miserable again. She wasn’t even sure she would have recovered from today’s crisis if Glimmer hadn’t been constantly feeding her positive feelings.

They had to break that link as soon as they could and if that meant that she would feel sad again then so be it, it was about time Catra did something for someone other than herself. She sighed as she tried to clear her mind of all this bullshit.

She stopped by one of the castle’s many balconies and attempted to meditate. As her thoughts left her she could feel the massive whirlpool of magic that constantly emanated from the three moons. She let the magical energies flow through her and wash away her worries. She had grown to really enjoy these moonlit nights since she had become a sorceress, but this time her enjoyment had to be cut short, for a strange spell rippled through the magic around her.

“I know you’re here” Catra called to the void “Show yourself!”

“My my,” came a too familiar voice from the shadows “Micah must’ve taught you well.”

“What are you doing here?” Catra asked, doing her best not to let her distress come through her voice.

“I could ask you the same question. You belong in this castle just as much as I do.” Shadow Weaver answered, moving closer to her “But we both know the answer to that. You failed again.”

“Is that all you know how to talk about?” Catra’s bravado responded almost as a reflex “Failure this, disappointment that. I’m starting to think you’re projecting a little here.”

“And here you are failing again.” Shadow Weaver continued, ignoring Catra’s comment. “You escaped Beast Island and gained unrestricted access to the Rebellion’s most well guarded fortress, you have the power of a runestone within your grasp and you squander it with midnight strolls. I thought I taught you better.”

“Have you considered that maybe I’m not a crazy, power hungry witch who can’t see past her own self-importance?” Catra answered, already tired of Weaver’s usual brand of arrogance. “I do not need nor want to steal Glimmer’s runestone. I’ve got all the power I need right here.” Catra allowed her magic to crackle around herself to prove her point.

“The idea that you think yourself a sorceress disgusts me. Your mere presence soils the study of magic.” The words dripped from Weaver’s mouth “I should strip the potential from you like I did to Micah and Norwyn.”

“Oh, I’m so scared” Catra mocked, unphased by the threat “If you had the guts to actually say it to my face.” and with a quick swipe of her claws the Shadow Weaver before her faded into black smoke.

“Clever.” Her voice echoed through the halls, “I guess tormenting you would be a waste of my time. Micah on the other hand...” Those words sent a shiver down Catra’s spine “I wonder. Has he told you about the secret of Beast Island? Perhaps I should look into that and greet my former pupil while I’m there.” And just like that she was gone, her spell no longer rippling through the air.

Catra had to hurry, she couldn’t let anything happen to Micah, let all their efforts be for nothing, let Shadow Weaver get what she wanted, let Glimmer lose her father again...she had- she had to rest, she reminded herself. If she tired herself like this then Shadow Weaver would win. She will warn the queen and get the castle on high alert, but after that she would rest and prepare for the long day tomorrow. At this point she wouldn’t be surprised if all her stress wasn’t giving Glimmer nightmares. 

* * *

To say Catra had struggled with her training was an understatement. There was not a single spell that didn’t have to come with a lesson on how she saw the world and how she needed to change in order to be happier and/or a better sorceress. At this point she only continued her training out of spite, a trait that she was glad she still hasn’t had to unlearn.

It didn’t help that all this time there was always this strange...thing in the horizon. A bright light that was constantly shining whenever she tried to feel the magic around her. Whatever it was it was powerful and hidden somewhere in this island. If only she could reach it.

One morning as she finished her morning exercises she was approached by a suspiciously happy Micah. “I see your exercises have been going well.” He pointed out.

“What do you want, Micah?” She asked without ever breaking her stance.

“Just felt like congratulating you on your progress in becoming a real sorceress.” he stated

“Just that? No weird training exercises?” She asked doubtfully.

“Not until after lunch,” He shrugged “but until then I got a gift for you.” He opened his bag and pulled out a red and orange robe that matched his own blue and purple. Catra visibly cringed at the sight of that thing.

“I am not wearing that!” she declared. It looked good and it was probably well made, but she is never gonna wear a robe, ever.

“What? Why?” Micah seemed genuinely confused that she didn’t like the thing. “This could be your uniform. A way of making you officially my student.”

“I am not wearing a robe.”

“But robes are so comfortable!” he pointed at his own clothes

“And also terrible for running, climbing and sneaking around.” She could keep going on why robes are awful for almost everything she likes to do. “I’m not wearing a robe. End of story.”

“I’ll think of something else.” Micah sighed and tossed the robe aside “Not like I was gonna make this big deal about you becoming my apprentice anyway.” Catra was convinced that Micah was actually 10 sometimes.

She rolled her eyes “I had some plans for today anyway, so why don’t you go think of a better reward while I’m away.”

“This is the most dangerous place in all of Etheria. What could possibly make you want to go take a stroll?” Catra let her eyes wander towards where she knew the light came from and Micah’s expression grew darker “Oh no.”

“What?”

“I know what you’re thinking, Catra, but this is not worth it.” He said, his expression full of uncharacteristic worry. “There is a darkness deep in this jungle, a darkness that feeds on the hearts of those who trespass into its territory. Whatever you do you must never approach it. Do you understand?”

“How very dramatic.” Catra joked, but Micah remained serious. “So what? I just go face this ‘darkness’, take whatever super powerful magical artifact is hidden down there and we can probably just use it to escape this shithole.”

“No.” He answered plainly, “You cannot simply face it. You can’t just shoot lightning at it and hope it goes away.”

“Fine! Maybe it will be difficult or risky or whatever, but that thing has so much power that I can feel it from here. This could be our ticket out!” Catra couldn’t understand why he was so stubborn about it. This could be their chance to go home...well, this could be his chance to go home. “Wouldn’t you do anything to see your wife and daughter again?”

“No! I would not!” His voice carried anger this time “There are risks that are not worth taking no matter the rewards. Paying any price to achieve your goals is exactly what Shadow Weaver did!”

“I am not Shadow Weaver!” Catra shouted and Micah immediately recoiled, regret clear on his face.

“I did not-I did not mean to imply that,” He could not meet the anger in her eyes. “Just please don’t risk your life over this.”

Catra turned around and prepared to leave. She would find this darkness and prove him wrong. She was strong enough to face it, she would be victorious and she would leave this cursed island. She was not gonna rot here like Micah and she would not become a monster like Shadow Weaver.

“Catra, please do not do this.” The worry on his voice falling on deaf ears. He took a step forward, but was met by an invisible wall of force. “When did you?”

“I can do this,” Catra said, not even looking at him “Just trust me.”

She didn’t stay to hear his reply. She just ran and left the cabin behind, left her new home behind.

* * *

That was a strange dream, Glimmer thought as she slowly drifted awake. She rarely dreamed she was other people and never dreamed about her father. She decided to let the thought slip away as she made herself comfortable. She was not leaving this bed until it was strictly necessary.

She clung to one of her many pillows and rested her face against it. It felt strangely warm and...scruffy? She opened her eyes to see what happened to it, just to finally notice she was clinging to a sleeping Catra. She did her best to contain a scream, how did that happen? Did Catra sneak into her room just to sleep with her? Wait, this wasn’t her room. Did she teleport in her sleep? Did Catra somehow summon her there to use as a body pillow?

She did her best to calm down. She was still in the castle and she was not being held hostage or anything. They probably just had to add this to the ever growing list of accidents that stupid staff was causing. 

She took a few deep breaths and tried Catra’s meditation technique from that dream - which she now realized was probably a memory - and soon enough she no longer felt like screaming and running away from the oddly peaceful Catra.

Peaceful may not be the right word. She did look peaceful, but there was more to it. She felt safe, content, happy. Glimmer did not know how much of this she got from reading her expression and how much came from the staff, but at this point she just learned not to question that magical nonsense.

Well, if sleeping with her somehow made her feel safe - an idea that caused way too many feelings - then Glimmer would indulge her. Catra was always so tense all the time, always ready to either fight or flee at a moment's notice. Robbing her of a few peaceful moments just felt wrong.

Adora unfortunately did not know about this and still had not learned how to knock, so she had promptly destroyed that peace when she burst through the door. “Catra, the Horde is on the move and we need - Oh.” She froze as she realized what was happening in the room and probably imagined an even worse scenario.

Catra slowly woke up, making what Glimmer could only describe as the cutest noise she ever heard and lazily looked around “Let me fucking sleep, Adora.” She clung to Glimmer again before realizing what she was doing and bolting up in an instant “This is absolutely not what it looks like!”

Glimmer heard steps coming from the corridor and braced herself as Bow rushed into the room yelling. “Adora, Glimmer is not in her room, we have to - Oh.” At this point Glimmer just wanted to teleport herself into a volcano and end this forever. Catra would probably want a ride too.

Catra promptly got up and tried to pretend none of this was happening “So you were going to say something about the Horde.”

“Ah yes, the Horde is attacking and we need you in the war room as soon as possible!” She answered with efficiency, the soldier in her still very much alive. “The same goes for you...Glimmer.” That last part brought back the awkwardness of this whole situation.

“Oh no, that’s terrible!” Catra said, trying desperately to get their attention anywhere else. “You two go on ahead while we get ready.” 

Adora seemed like she had something else to say, but she was quickly pushed out by Bow. “Sure thing. See you two in the war room.”

As soon as he closed the door Catra turned towards her and yelled “What the fuck were you doing in my bed?”

“I don’t know!” Glimmer yelled back, “I must’ve teleported in my sleep. I haven’t done that since I was like 5.”

“But why my bed?” Her volume did not go down.

“Well, maybe someone was feeling clingy tonight and that stupid mindlink decided to yank me here.” Glimmer could not believe she was being so nice to this girl not even 5 minutes ago.

Catra groaned loudly. “We gotta undo that spell as soon as possible.” She turned around and began gathering her stuff. “Just go get ready and we can discuss this mess after the war room meeting.”

“Sure.” Glimmer agreed, but as her gaze lingered on Catra for just a couple more seconds and her memory returned to the look on her face as she slept, Glimmer realized that she was completely and utterly screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that cute noise cats make when they wake up? That was the noise Catra made right there


	6. Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Glimmer sail to Beast Island and Glimmer learns more than she expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I wanna do a bit of house keeping.  
> You may have noticed that we have an expected amount of chapters (6/9 nice!), which consist of 2 more proper chapters and an epilogue (taking place after a considerable time skip)  
> The plan here is to get all 9 chapters out before the beginning of Season 3, but to do that I'll have to post one chapter a week from now on  
> So buckle up, everyone, the Glitra train has no more stops

The Horde always had the best timing. With Brightmoon on high alert and Shadow Weaver’s threat towards Micah, they chose now to make their push into the Whispering Woods. Catra doubted this was planned in any way, but this was all working perfectly in their favor. Not being able to put aside any of the threats, the Princess Alliance had to split into teams. Adora and Bow would lead a small team against the Horde, Netossa and Spinerella would defend the Moonstone in case Shadow Weaver was bluffing, and Catra and Glimmer will go to rescue Micah from Beast Island.

Catra was glad with how things worked out. It was obvious that she would be the one leading the Beast Island team, but she was still relieved to be as far away from the Horde forces as she could. Unlike Adora, she was not mentally ready to fight her former colleagues and friends. Being distant from Adora was also a plus, considering how things had been going between them lately, and having Glimmer on her side meant she wouldn’t have to worry about being yanked through several continents. She was maybe too happy to be alone with Glimmer, but she just assumed this was all a side effect of their link and moved on.

Of course there were still problems with a two-woman mission to the deadliest place in Etheria. The first one was making their way to Micah’s cabin and back while avoiding most of the wild life. Second was the fact that they couldn’t just take Swift Wind with them and had instead decided to hire a pirate to sail them there. A very loud and annoying pirate.

“Ah, it is good to have a crew once again. The sea just isn’t the same without company.” He said loudly “Don’t you agree, Kitra?”

“It is Catra.” Glimmer corrected, probably feeling Catra’s annoyance, “And I didn’t expect you to be this happy to visit Beast Island.”

“Hah!” he laughed too loudly. “Beast Island is one of my favorite hiding spots. Free from unsavory sorts like the Horde and....” He looked and Catra as she shot him a glare. “My apologies.”

The mustachioed pirate went silent as he focused on sailing towards their destination. Catra relaxed as best as she could while they were still so far from the shore and for a few moments she felt like she could maybe just enjoy a silent trip back home. She was once again wrong.

“I almost forgot!” He shouted as he jumped down from the helm, “Our new crewmate never had the chance to join me in a shanty. Come sing with me, friend!” Catra felt a wave of dread wash over her and she knew this was Glimmer bracing herself for what was about to happen. “I am Sea Hawk-”

As fast she could, Catra weaved a quick spell, blocking all sound around him. Sea Hawk was unaware that anything had changed and continued to sing his heart out. Glimmer let out a sigh of relief. Those two were apparently friends, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy all of his...quirks.

“I think that is the first time I’ve seen you use a spell that isn’t just ‘angry red lightning’.” Glimmer commented.

“What? You expected me to go around Brightmoon Castle taking coins from behind children’s ears?” Catra responded with faked annoyance.

“Well, could you?” Now that was some bait Catra would love to take.

“I am a sorceress! I’m versed in every school of magic.” Catra puffed her chest and tried to sound all high and mighty. “It is not my fault you people get me in an ‘angry red lightning’ mood.”

Glimmer laughed at that and Catra noted that she enjoyed that sound more than she should. “I guess angry and spiky does suit you. I kinda like that.”

The rest of the trip went just like that. Full of bantering and bickering between the two of them - mostly because Catra forgot to remove Sea Hawk’s silencing spell - and when they finally arrived at Beast Island Catra had to admit that for all his failures, Sea Hawk was a very competent sailor. Few people could sail to Beast Island so smoothly. Even the Horde only sent automated ships this way.

As soon as she jumped onto the shore Catra began giving orders. “If we keep a good pace we should find Micah by nightfall. Stick close to me, princess, and we might get there without attracting any of the giant monsters, insects or plants and without losing any limbs. Any questions?”

“Yes,” Glimmer answered “Are you always such a ray of sunshine?”

“Only when I don’t wanna get eaten.”

“I also have a question!” Sea Hawk chimed in “What is my job here?”

“You take care of the ship until we come back.”

“I’ll have you know that I have arm wrestled much bigger and scarier monsters than anything you could find on this island!” He bragged.

“I know.” Glimmer said, rolling her eyes. “That is why we need you to defend our only means of escape. You wouldn’t want to lose The Dragon’s Daughter VIII so far away from a port, right?” Catra made a mental note to never sail with that man again.

“Yes, I guess you're right.” Sea Hawk began making his way back to the ship. “I also wouldn’t want to get in the way of your flirting. So please enjoy Beast Island without me.”

Catra opened her mouth to argue, but Glimmer just shook her head. It was not worth the effort.

* * *

Under Catra’s instructions they had traversed the jungle in complete silence. They did not wish to alert anything that may be lurking out of sight and they could still send simple messages through their weird empathic link. Glimmer still felt very weird using it like that, but it was better than spending the rest of the day running from whatever the hell lived here.

Glimmer was surprised by how silent their march had been. Like nothing lived here at all, and all they could hear was the sound of the wind. This had put Catra on edge and, as a side effect, made Glimmer very uncomfortable. This place was supposed to be full of all sorts of weird creatures, why was it suddenly so empty? The only thing that could get them all to leave at once was....a dragon.

Catra bolted forward. A quickening spell made her as fast as the wind as she ran forwards, caution now completely forgotten. This couldn’t have happened. She had to be wrong. It never found the cabin before. It never attacked unless they got near its territory. Why would it do it now?

Glimmer - without any sorcery to help her - was struggling to keep up with her. Catra was already much faster than her normally and she didn’t want to use any of her teleports in case they actually run into a freaking dragon. Only when Catra had finally stopped did Glimmer catch up.

Before them was a smoldering crater. Trees had been toppled and the ground had been dug up by massive claws, everything else had been burnt to ash. If there was ever a cabin here there were no longer any signs of it, only cinders. Glimmer fell to her knees as realization settled in. Micah was dead. She had lost her father a second time.

  


_No! That is bullshit! This can’t be right. I can’t go through that. I can’t let her go through that again. I have to do something. Anything!_

  


Catra’s thoughts were loud enough that Glimmer could hear them clearly. She was trying to be strong for her, she tried focusing her magic again, but no spell could bring her father back from the dead. Their journey had been for nothing and now they would have to live with each other forever.

“He isn’t dead” Catra stated. Her eyes completely shut.

Glimmer took a deep breath. “Catra, I know you want to help, but there is no point in just-”

“Micah is alive! Just close your eyes and let me show you!” The determination in that command bordered on anger, so Glimmer did as she was told.

At first there was only darkness, but soon lights began to surround her. The ground, the air, the forest, everything glowed with beautiful lights she had never seen before. All of them swirling and spinning around her and in the center Catra stood like a vortex of pure light, all of it flowing through her and into Glimmer.

“Shadow Weaver turned him into a magical void. Not even his ashes could conduct magic.” Catra explained, “But the crater is completely bright. His ashes are not here, so that means he wasn’t here when the cabin was attacked and that means-”

“We can track him!” Glimmer finished “My father is still alive!”

Catra looked up from the crater. The sun was setting and the nightly predators would soon come out. They would be safe this close to where the dragon attacked, but the further away they were the higher the risk of being ambushed. “We’ll follow his trail tomorrow.”

“What!?” Glimmer shouted “Are you crazy? I’m not leaving him alone in the dark with a freaking dragon!”

“Would you rather he was alone in the dark with a freaking dragon and with no one to go rescue him?” Catra shouted back “Because that is what you’re suggesting.” Glimmer looked like she was about to explode at her, but she didn’t know how to argue so she settled on grumbling and staring daggers at Catra. “Try to relax and get some sleep now, princess. You can roast tomorrow.”

* * *

Catra had been wandering down this cave system for hours now. Was this seriously all Micah was afraid of? Yes, the place was dark, but there was nothing she could call ‘a terrible darkness’ or whatever he had said. She was actually pretty sure it was starting to get bright again. She was probably coming up on the surface.

Just as that thought crossed her mind she stepped out of the caves an into....the Whispering Woods? How did she even get here? Oh no, this was another stupid illusion, she must have walked into another First One’s ruin and was trapped in another stupid memory. Just what she needed.

Catra decided to just walk around and wait for whatever little trick this stupid ruin was gonna pull on her. Luckily for her she didn’t have to wait much and this time it was very straight forward.

“Catra!” Adora shouted as she leapt at Catra. Sword in hand and already in the hulking form of She-ra.

“Hey, Adora.” The words slipped out naturally. Oh did she miss toying with Adora, a shame this wasn’t the real deal. “Fancy seeing you here.”

The illusory She-ra did not answer Catra’s teasing and simply continued to swing her sword around, completely intent on killing Catra. Unamused by this development, Catra decided to toss her through a few trees to see if that would make her feel better.

“How?” The fake Adora asked after Catra dropped the levitation spell

“Oh this? Did you like my new tricks?” Catra shot a bolt of lightning towards She-ra and she crumpled to the ground. “Ugh, you’re just as weak as the real deal and only half the fun. At least say something heroic or whatever.”

“I’m sorry.” Of course she would say that.

“Sorry?” Catra was starting to really despise this Adora. “Oh I’m sure you are.”

“I shouldn’t have left you. I shouldn’t-” Another bolt interrupted her.

“No, you really shouldn’t.” Catra yanked the sword away from her with another spell “But you did and now you get to live with the consequences.”

She tossed another bolt and another and another. Adora didn’t fight back, she never did, she always held back and soon she would be just weak little Adora again. This didn’t make Catra feel any better, but she kept doing it, maybe if Adora felt her pain she would finally feel something.

Catra lifted Adora off the ground. Micah never taught her that choking spell, but Catra figured it out on her own and now it was time for a little demonstration. Catra raised her hand and soon Adora began to choke. The despair in her eyes made her cackle with delight. This would finally be her victory, she was finally the strongest around, she- What was she doing?

She let Adora fall to the ground and stared at her own hands. Those were no longer her hands. They had grey fingers wrapped in red gloves, her whole body was completely covered in a flowing red robe. No, no, no! The shock almost caused her to vomit. This was wrong. This was all so wrong!

She fled back into the caves. Crying like she hadn’t done in a long time.

She barely felt a pair of hands dragging her away and a distant voice calling “This is not real! Catra, this is not real!”

* * *

Catra bolted awake. This memory had been haunting her for months now, but she never got used to it. She wiped away her tears and looked around. They still had plenty of time before sunrise and nothing seemed to have disturbed their little camp. She heard shuffling next to her as Glimmer rolled away from her on her ‘sleep’.

“I know you’re awake, Glimmer.” Catra stated simply. “You saw it too, didn’t you?”

Glimmer did not answer at first and just opened her eyes to stare at Catra for a few moments. “What was that?”

“The big secret of Beast Island. A First One’s temple holding some powerful relic no one ever saw, because they all flee after stumbling on the first hologram.” Catra tried to keep a casual tone as she explained, she knew she was failing. “People say it reflects ‘the darkness in our hearts’,” she added air quotes, mocking the overly dramatic phrase. “It takes your desires, your fears and your hate and turns everything into the perfect defense system.”

“No wonder my dad didn’t want you to go there.”

“Well, I am notoriously bad at listening to reason and he wasn’t even mad for disobeying him and leaving.” Catra sighed and looked down at the ground. “He was just worried.”

“He sounds like a very caring person.”

Catra chuckled. “Only when he needed to be, he is usually as much of a pest as you are.” The joke seemed enough to break the serious mood that hung over them. “And at least I got a cool jacket out of it.” She gestured towards the leather jacket Micah had made her.

“I guess I would face my inner demons if it meant getting a cool jacket.” Glimmer joked. She was trying to lighten the mood a bit, but it was clear she was still worried about Catra.

“Just get some sleep, princess. We can worry about all my issues once we get out of this island.” Catra laid down again, trying her best to sleep, but she could feel Glimmer still wide awake next to her, every little discomfort the other girl felt being transmitted to her. “You know I don’t have fleas or anything. If you wanna get warm you can sleep a little closer.”

Glimmer mumbled something and begrudgingly moved closer to Catra, still facing away from her just to be sure there would not be another ‘cuddling accident’. Catra found all that very amusing and very Glimmer. It was strange to think that about someone, but at this point she was getting used to strange thoughts and at least this one was pleasant.

She turned around so she would be facing the back of Glimmer’s head, her hair shining ever brighter against the darkness of the night. It reminded her of all the stories she heard about the time of the First Ones, about skies covered in stars and how beautifully they shone down on Etheria, and she wondered, could any starry sky ever compare to this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically when Catra fights Shadow Catra and unlocks her Purrsona


	7. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it hurts, but you can live through this. I know you can.

It had been months since Catra escaped Beast Island and broke her connection with Glimmer. For a moment there, things were fine. She had friends, goals, a home, but happiness never lasted long for her and soon she had to deal with the rest of the Rebellion. Adora, Glimmer and Bow may have been quick to forgive her, but the other princesses and soldiers were not. Catra did not blame them, there were only so many times someone could try to kill you before it destroying any chance of being your friend.

Now Catra wandered through Etheria alone. Avoiding Rebellion forces however she could and saving people from the Horde whenever possible. She held no delusion that this might one day buy her forgiveness, but having a moral compass was a new experience for her and she wanted to see how that would work.

At the end of the day it wasn’t so bad. She enjoyed working alone and she got to see all of Etheria. What else could she ever want? Of course she missed the few friends she made in the Rebellion and in the Horde, and she sometimes would reach out in her mind just to meet a void where Glimmer once was. It was foolish of Catra to think the princess felt the same for her. It was all just that stupid staff messing with their heads.

She had decided earlier today to risk it and pass through a Rebellion settlement. She needed to buy some more supplies and she was pretty good at being inconspicuous. Of course, luck was never on her side and the one day she visits a small village in the middle of nowhere is the same day the Horde decides to attack it.

Now she was just sitting there, in the smoldering husk of a tank, watching as the Horde forces fled before her. She wondered why Shadow Weaver hadn’t magic proofed all the Horde’s equipment, but knowing her she probably didn’t want the Horde to pose a threat to her.

All that pondering was abruptly interrupted by a shout of “Wildcat!” from one of the other destroyed tanks. Before Catra could do anything Scorpia was already running towards her for a lung crushing hug. “Oh Wildcat, do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?”

“Personal...Space” Catra struggled to say as Scorpia twirled her around like a ragdoll.

“Sorry!” Scorpia exclaimed, releasing Catra and letting her breathe again “It’s just that it has been so long and I wasn’t expecting to see you and-”

“Scorpia, what the fuck are you doing?” Catra interrupted

“Talking to my best friend?”

“I’m not with the Horde anymore.” Catra said, but Scorpia didn’t seem to understand. “We’re enemies now. We can’t just go around being all friendly in the middle of a battlefield!”

“Didn’t you use to do that with Adora all the time?” If it wasn’t Scorpia saying that, Catra would be sure she was trying to make her angry.

“That doesn’t matter.” Catra was really not having this conversation right now “Just take what is left of your forces and leave!”

“Actually I can’t do that,” Scorpia awkwardly scratched the back of her head as she spoke. “Hordak kinda wants to see you and he said not to return without you so…”

“I am not walking into another death trap with him! Not in a million years!”

* * *

“It has been a while, Former-Force Commander Catra.” Hordak greeted. “Force Captain Scorpia, you may leave us”

Scorpia bowed before her superior and left. Catra was vehemently refusing to bow, kneel or show any form of respect towards her former boss “What do you want?”

“To make you a proposition.” Catra did not like the sound of that at all.

“If you want me to join the Horde again now that I have powers you can forget it. I don’t work for people who try to kill me.”

“I do not plan on offering you a simple position under my command. You are far more useful as an unaffiliated third party after all.” He leaned forward in his throne “I plan on offering you Etheria.”

“Excuse me?” Catra must have misheard that.

“This planet has been my prison for decades and once I escape this galactic nowhere with every last one of its rare resources it shall be yours to rule.” Hordak had to be joking or lying, but his expression didn’t betray either. “Of course the planet will still belong to the Horde, but with your hand in conquering it I can be convinced to turn a blind eye to your activities.”

Catra took a step back to try and process all of this “Let’s say I believe anything you just said, which I don’t, why are you offering all this to me, especially after trying to kill me already?”

“Because you are an asset. One that the Rebellion was foolish enough to throw away.” The implication that she was just a tool to be used and the idea that the princesses threw her away like garbage both stung. “Magic strong enough to take down most princesses, more freedom of movement than any of my troops, and the trust of their leaders. The difference you could make in this war is too great for me to simply ignore you.”

“And what would you do if I was to just refuse your offer and walk out of this room?” She asked “I’ve already proven that your soldiers can’t stop me.”

“You won’t.” Was his simple answer.

“You sound really certain of it.”

Hordak stood up. “Don't be stupid. I am offering you a planet in exchange for a trivial task.”

“Betraying my friends doesn’t sound like a trivial task to me.”

“Friends who do not care if you live or die.” Hordak was losing his patience. “You are ambitious. Their trust is not worth more than all the power the Horde could offer you.”

* * *

It looked like it would rain soon. Catra thought as she tried to keep her mind away from Hordak’s offer. The hill she was sitting on had a beautiful view of the Whispering Woods most of the time, but today dark clouds hung from the sky as well as in her mind. She hated this situation, but at the very least she could tolerate the place.

“You know, if I knew this place was so far away I would have brought Swift Wind.” Adora joked as she finally reached the top of the hill. Catra didn’t respond. “Hey, is everything okay? I haven’t seen you in months, then you send me a mysterious letter and now you won’t even say hi?”

“Where is everyone else?” Catra asked.

“With Bow’s dads down there.” Adora answered, pointing towards a large house in the Whispering Woods. “I can call them here, but you said you just wanted to see me.”

Catra sighed, “Why did you have to be so naive, Adora?”

“What?” Adora was confused.

“Why did you have to trust me?” She said, angrily “Why did you have to go and make this harder?”

“Catra, I don’t understand” Adora said, her hand instinctively reaching for her sword.

“I’m sorry” At this point not even Catra knew if that was true. Neither of them wanted to fight, but Catra had grown used to doing things she hated.

In the end it was over too quickly.

She-ra’s body collapsed under its own weight, the sword slipping out of her hand as it changed again to that of Adora. After all this time fighting, all this time living in her shadow, Catra had finally achieved her ultimate victory and yet she felt nothing. It didn’t matter now, she just had to finish this and drag her body to the Fright Zone, then they would take her back, she would take her rightful place.

Bright pink lights flashed between the two as Glimmer materialized. She faced Catra with open arms, shielding Adora from harm. Catra sneered “Move away, Glimmer.” she commanded, but the smaller girl refused to move. “What do you think you’re doing? You think I won’t kill you too? Do you really think you’re so special?” She clenched her fist and red lightning crackled around her. Glimmer remained unmoved.

“I’ve known her for all my life. I cared about her, I loved her for as long as I can remember.” Catra gestured to the nearly unconscious Adora “I’ve known you for what? A year at best? Get out of the way or I will.kill.you!” She took a step forward and Glimmer took one too. That only made Catra grow more frustrated.

“Why?” Glimmer uttered, refusing to meet Catra’s gaze.

“Why?!” Catra shouted back. “Because she is my ticket back, my way back home, the one way for me to get it all back.” The lightning shot out from beneath her and stopped directly in front of Glimmer.

“I know Adora made you angry.” Glimmer said as she took a step forward “I know how much you hurt and how much this all means to you,” she took another step. “And I can never claim to matter more to you than any of that. More than Adora, more than your home.” The electricity begun to retreat as the tears fell down Glimmer’s face. “But I thought it didn’t have to matter. If I could just find you a new home.”

Catra steeled herself. “Where? In Brightmoon?” her magic moved again, but couldn’t touch Glimmer. “Where everyone hates me? Where I’ll never be welcomed?”

“No.” Glimmer’s voice was soft, she made her staff appear in her hands. It was once their staff, the symbol of their very strange union. Glimmer extended it towards her “A home where you’ll be loved, where you’ll be welcomed no matter what.” She took another step closer and now she was standing right in front of Catra. “A home with me.”

Catra screamed louder than she had in a long time. Her magic flew unchecked, tearing the land to pieces, but never touching Glimmer. Glimmer didn’t flinch or retreat at the display of wild power, she just moved closer and brought Catra into a hug. “It’s okay...” Glimmer whispered “I know it hurts, but you can live through this. I know you can”

Catra couldn’t. How could she live through this after all she had done? To Adora, to Glimmer, to herself. It all hurt so much she felt like her heart would be ripped apart. So she did the only think she could. She held onto Glimmer like her life depended on it and she cried all the tears she had kept inside for so long.

When Catra finally opened her eyes again Adora, Glimmer and even the hill and the stormy sky had all disappeared. She was standing alone in the dark corridor of a First One’s ruin. Slowly she remembered following Micah’s tracks into this cave system and being stupid enough to believe this time she was strong enough to just walk through it. She tried to steady herself again and move on - she still had people to save after all - but she just couldn’t. She just felt weak and small as she trembled on the floor.

“It’s okay, Catra.” She heard a familiar voice call as a warm pink light enveloped her “Things will be okay. I’m here for you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that last scene was the first scene I ever wrote for this? I legit wrote 7 chapters of context just to get to that one angsty scene. Now there is only one chapter left of story and then our prologue.
> 
> It should also be noted that chapters 5 and 6 have been edited as to make Micah less of an asshole.  
> I wanna thank Virovac for helping me realize my failure there and all you lovely nerds for giving me the motivation to actually keep writing and fixing this mess.


	8. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer is ambushed. Catra comes to her aid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we reach the proper conclusion to this story
> 
> Now you can wait for the epilogue....or the follow up fluff/smut fic, because I'm definitely writing that....eventually

Darkness engulfed the entire cave system. Were it not by Glimmer’s soothing pink light Catra would not be able to see a single step ahead. Of course Glimmer herself wasn’t there, but somehow her glow was and so was her voice.

“How long have we been in this cave now?” Catra asked as she aimlessly wandered.

“Maybe a couple of hours? It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.” Glimmer’s voice answered inside her head. She didn’t sound all that confident in her answer, but Catra didn’t feel like doubting her now.

“Before I woke up it felt like months.” It freaked her out that such vast periods of her life could be completely faked and she would never know.

“Months? For me it felt like years..” Now that disturbed Catra even more. “I was married by the time my ilusion ended.”

Catra decided to step far away from all the implications of Glimmer experiencing years of her life in the span of a few hours and decided to go for something a little more light hearted. “So who did you get married to?”

“I am not answering that!” Glimmer immediately shouted.

Catra couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction and soon Glimmer was laughing too. They needed a bit of levity after all that had happened to them these last few days. Their walk continue to be dark and aimless, but at least there was some comfort in each other’s company.

“You got any idea on how we’re doing this?” Glimmer asked after a long period of silence.

“Doing what exactly?” 

“I’m glowing red and we’ve been talking for hours.” She answered, not as concerned as most people would get when they start glowing red. “I know it’s probably more weird link stuff, but we couldn’t do this until an hour ago.”

Catra pondered the many possible reasons for this before settling on the most ‘Micah’ explanation. “I’m guessing it was the trauma.”

“Look, just because everything in your life happens ‘because of the trauma’ doesn’t mean-”

“Very funny, Glimmer” Catra interrupted “But I’m serious. We must have pulled each other closer or jumped to each other’s defense on reflex.”

“Just so we are clear. I’m not okay with my subconscious asking you for help.” Glimmer interjected, feeling a little insulted by the implication. 

“Maybe your subconscious wanted you to defend me.” Catra responded, trying to appease her.

“I’m a little more okay with that.” 

* * *

“Is it just me or is this place getting really hot?” Catra asked after another long long walk.

“You know I’m probably not even close to you right now, right?” Glimmer answered, unhelpfully.

“I know, but the fireproof enchantment on my jacket just activated.” Catra answered as she felt the magic slowly flowing into the jacket. “That is not a good sign.”

“You put a fireproof enchantment on your jacket?”

“I was worried we would find the dragon.” Catra answered honestly.

“Why didn’t you put one on my stuff?”

Catra was a little ashamed to admit that she completely forgot about it until they were already on Beast Island, but it looked like she wouldn’t have to as a loud rumbling sound interrupted her train of thought. 

“Glimmer, I think I found something!” As she called her name the soft pink glow of her magic began to fade away, leaving Catra alone in the dark again. This was not a good sign.

With a simple gesture she conjured up a ball of white light. Though it was brighter than Glimmer’s light, it was not nearly as warm and comforting. Its cold rays illuminated the entrance to a large chamber ahead, from which the heat seemed to radiate. Knowing fully well how stupid this idea was, but having few other options, Catra entered the chamber and prepared for the worst.

At first nothing happened as she walked through the large room. Her enchantment was pretty efficient at combating the heat, the light of her spell illuminated the few stalagmites and stalactites scattered around the room and the echo of her steps was all she could hear.

_Tendrils of darkness lashing at her. Teleport after teleport trying to find an angle of attack. A red mask and an echoing laugh._

Catra was overwhelmed by flashes from Glimmer’s mind, stunning her and breaking her concentration. Her light spell had faded away and this time worry made it take much longer to recast, and by the time she conjured it up again another thing had entered the room with her.

A mountain of polished metal, covered end to end in First One’s writing. All claws, fangs, and wings, that thing emanated the heat of a thousand furnaces. It was the dragon that had tried to kill her so many times, but now that it was so close to her, Catra could finally see what it truly was, a First One’s construct. An elemental.

The shock of that realization would have to wait as the dragon was about to incinerate her and she did not want to be anywhere near it when that strategy failed. She ran away from the beast as the flames engulfed her. Not wanting to find out just how strong that fire proofing was, Catra added a speed boosting spell to the ever growing list of things she had to concentrate on.

Unfortunately the spell was not enough to get her out of the room before the monster could get in her way. It was however enough to let her roll out of the way of that thing’s pounce. Buying as much distance as she could, Catra tried to asses the situation.

She had to help Glimmer fight Shadow Weaver, but first she had to escape this room and the dragon was now between her and her best exit. At least now she knew her enchantment would hold. Now, if only she had a way of dealing with everything else.

The dragon breathed fire once more and Catra used the flames as cover to move past the creature, but with a single flap of its wings she was sent flying across the cave. Good thing she always landed on her feet, or she would have crashed right through a stalagmite.

Not taking a second to rest, Catra was already running around the cave, doing her best to avoid the monster behind her. Playing tag with a dragon would only end in disaster and she had to find a way out of this. There had to be a trick up her sleeve, a spell that she forgot, something to turn the tables.

Turning on her heels, Catra ran straight at the beast. This time it knew she would not burn and prepared to swallow her whole instead. She leaped over the thing’s jaws and landed right in the middle of its head. That thing was still a First One’s construct and if it was anything like those spiders Catra knew exactly what its weak spot was.

She summoned her staff and, channeling every bit of angry red lightning she could conjure up, she shoved the staff through the beast’s left eye, the explosive energy enough to knock Catra away and illuminate the entire chamber with an eerie red light. The dragon still moved, but it was slow and weak. It tumbled forward and released a large cloud of smoke. Defeated by Catra’s magic.

Catra allowed herself a moment to catch her breath. She had somehow killed a dragon and was now on her way to save a princess from an evil witch. Adora would be so proud of her for somehow getting stuck inside some stupid fairy tale. Now she just hoped she got one with a happy ending.

As she made a mental note to brag about this to Adora later a bright pink light began emanating from the staff. Glimmer was summoning it to herself and Catra was intent on not getting left behind. She bolted for the staff - still firmly placed in the dragon’s metal skull - and with a flash of red and pink she was yanked away.

* * *

“Glimmer, I think I found something.” Was the last Glimmer heard from Catra before something attacked her from the darkness. She couldn’t quite see what it was, but Catra’s magic managed to force it back before completely dissipating. The absence of that warm light and its strange feeling of safety was making her even more aware of the danger she was currently in.

Glimmer called upon her own magic to illuminate the room. It was a large room similar to the one in the first ruin she ever visited back when Adora was her prisoner, but instead of Light Hope’s hologram the figure that awaited at its center was one of twisting black and red shapes. Shadow Weaver.

Glimmer wasted no time. She had punched her lights out once and she could do it again. She teleported behind her and struck with her magic infused fist, but as she made contact with Shadow Weaver’s body it dissipated into darkness.

“You really are like your father,” Shadow Weaver’s voice echoed through the chamber, “always so eager to jump into action.”

Several more Shadow Weavers stepped out of the shadows, all speaking in unison. “I should be grateful for those tendencies.” They mocked with a dozen voices, “It was what made him help me all those years ago, and what made his magic so easy for me to take.”

She was the reason her father lost his power, the reason why he was stuck on this island, the reason she thought he was dead. Glimmer would make her pay for that. Teleport after teleport Glimmer took down the many Shadow Weavers, but all they did was laugh. “Maybe I should take your magic too, since you’re so intend on wasting it.”

As if to punctuate her words something struck her from out of the shadows. No, it were the shadows that attacked her, tendrils of darkness writhing through the floor. Glimmer turned around to retaliate when-

_Fire surrounds her. Fangs and claws and metal wait for her. The winds of a hurricane push her away._

The visions of Catra stop her in her tracks. She had to help her, but she couldn’t just leave Shadow Weaver to her own devices. “What would be a bigger disappointment here? Catra failing to do anything by herself again, or you stuck here, unable to help her?” Glimmer prepared the biggest ball of energy she could muster, one that would knock out all the mocking shadows. “I wonder if this is how Micah felt. Stuck on this island, unable to help as his family struggled in the war.”

“Shut up!”

Glimmer called her staff and with one swift movement, unleashed all the energy she had stored into a single massive explosion. She fell to her knees and beside her Catra tumbled to the ground. “Hey, Sparkles...” she said weakly “Sorry I’m late.” She tried to get up, but was dragged away by the darkness.

“Pitiful.” Shadow Weaver’s voice echoed around her. That explosion was supposed to destroy everything in the room, how was she still there? Glimmer attacked the darkness again, but nothing happened, her magic had been exhausted and now she was alone. “Too weak to protect your friend, too weak to save your father, too weak to even fight back. You princesses do not deserve the powers that you have. Now let me take yours and put it to a better use.”

_‘Rescue,’ she said ‘rescue’. That means Micah had to be alive, right? And so am I. You still have a chance, you can still fight!_

“I can’t,” Glimmer lamented “I can’t fight her...”

“It is too late to plead, princess.” Shadow Weaver mocked as she moved closer.

“I can’t fight you,” Glimmer clenched her fists and began to stand up “But we can!”

Catra’s red light covered her for protection and Glimmer would not let that go to waste. She jumped right through the fake Weaver and allowed Catra’s magic sight to take over. Soon the entire room took on the eerie glow of magic. The fake Weavers, fake walls, and fake room all faded into a light smoke, while the real Shadow Weaver and the real Catra twisted the light around them like the swirling tides, and right behind them the brightest light she had ever seen and a void as dark as the night sky. She had found them.

Running faster than she ever believed she could, Glimmer took a great leap towards not Shadow Weaver, but the magical artifact behind her and with all of their combined strength she gave the relic the strongest punch she could muster.

When Glimmer opened her eyes again she was looking at what could only be a runestone. Red lightning coursed through her fist and into the stone, shattering it into a million pieces. “No!” Shadow Weaver screamed besides her, and with that Glimmer knew that she did the right thing.

* * *

“I must say it is an honor to have a king aboard my ship!” Sea Hawk said as they sailed away in the Dragon’s Daughter VIII. They had left Bright Moon with only three crewmates, but now they returned with four and a prisoner. He couldn’t say this trip wasn’t productive. “Now how would you feel about joining my trusty crew?”

Micah gave him a genuine laugh. “As much as I’d love to, I think it’s about time I spent some time with my daughter,” He held Glimmer’s shoulder as he spoke “and my apprentice.”

“Oh but that is the great part.” Sea Hawk started and both girls groaned “They are both already part of my crew!”

“Is this true?” Micah asked.

“What? No!” Catra answered immediately.

“Dad! Do not believe a word this man says!” Glimmer continued.

“I’m joking!” Micah said, apologizing. “I got almost two decades of bad jokes and embarrassing stories to catch up on.” He laughed and Catra groaned. Glimmer began to realize that those two reactions would happen a lot from now on. She could get used to that.

“Now, as much as I hate to cut this reunion short,” he continued “We’ve all been through a lot these past few days and I think you two deserve a good night’s rest.” He gestured for the two of them to get inside and decided to stay outside, he wanted to be the first to see Brightmoon Harbor when they finally arrived. Glimmer could understand that and she really was very tired after all that happened.

She and Catra walked in silence through the ship, but they both felt the same lingering awkwardness. “So,” Glimmer said, trying to break the silence “I guess we can finally break that weird link thing.”

“Do you want to?” Catra asked, her words carrying more than she would like to admit.

“Don’t you want to?” Glimmer knew it was not a real answer, but she didn’t really have one right now. That connection saved their lives today and she did kind of enjoy having Catra just a thought away. 

“I don’t think I do.” Catra paused, considering her next words very carefully. “I think I want to stay with you.” That last part made Glimmer’s heart skip a bit. “I mean, it will be hard and you can be very infuriating at times, but I think we could make it work. We did just prove that we’re stronger together.”

Glimmer laughed at the complete out of character positivity she was getting from Catra.

“What? I’m serious!” Catra exclaimed, almost offended.

“I know. I just guess you really are a ray of sunshine” Glimmer could’ve sworn she made Catra blush.

“Well...yeah!?” She answered, sounding like an angry twelve year old, “Then I guess you really are a jellybean!” It was now Glimmer’s turn to blush at the sound of her new nickname. The sight of Glimmer’s pink cheeks seemed enough to bring back Catra’s confidence. “Good thing I’m developing a bit of a sweet tooth.” She finally said as she leaned closer.

Glimmer closed the distance without a second thought. In an instant their lips met and all the worries she had felt for the past week suddenly disappeared. In their place was only Catra’s gentle touch.

“Yeah,” She said once their lips finally parted “we really are stronger together”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHE PROTECC  
> SHE ATACC  
> but most importantly  
> SHE LOVE YOU BACC


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war is over. Time has passed and life continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is easily the most self indulgent thing I've ever written and I have no shame
> 
> "This is Glimmer. She is my ex-girlfriend"

“Approaching now: Princess regent of Brightmoon and hero of the Great War, Princess Glimmer of Brightmoon, and as her plus one, Captain of the Brightmoon royal guard and hero of the Great War, Captain Bow of Brightmoon.” One of Entrapta’s many robot servants loudly announced as they entered Dryll’s Ballroom. “Please enjoy Dryll’s Princess Prom.” it continued in a much lower tone of voice.

After all that happened in this last decade, Glimmer could hardly believe she survived to attend another Princess Prom, and this time with a much smaller risk of death. With the war over there were not all that many reasons for someone to try and explode the castle. Although, Glimmer hadn’t have the time to judge Entrapta’s taste in music yet, so she still couldn’t confirm there were no reasons to try and explode the castle.

“I see you looking at them, Bow.” Glimmer commented as they walked through the crowd of princesses. Bow had been looking towards the same place in the crowd from the moment they got in. Years of practice with a bow and arrow had given him quite the eyesight. “You can go spend the prom with Perfuma if you want, but we need to at least go greet our hostess.”

“As captain of your personal guard, I must not leave your side should your life be put in danger!” Bow declared solemnly “And also I don’t wanna leave you hanging like last time.”

“And I don’t wanna be mean to you like last time.” Glimmer felt like a complete idiot every time someone mentioned the previous Princess Prom. “And who knows? Maybe if my life is put in danger, Catra would show up in time for once.” Glimmer smiled at her own joke, but made no further efforts to hide how pissed she was at Catra.

“Are you still planning on-”

“Yes, Bow! I’m still planning on doing that tonight.” She interrupted “Now can we not bring her up again?”

“Hey guys!” Entrapta called and waved from atop her throne. “I’m so glad you’re here! I thought you wouldn’t show up.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Bow asked, chuckling.

“Glimmer almost died the last three times she visited this castle and you cannot come without a princess to accompany you. Also last prom ended with both of you being kidnapped.” Entrapta listed off absentmindedly, “Of course one of those times was because of your girlfriend and the kidnapping was also her fault and- Hey, where is Catra? I thought she would be your plus one. Did you guys break up? Can Adora bring her here? I need her to revise my notes on magic infused power source and-”

“Catra said she will be late,” Glimmer interrupted. “But I’m sure she would love to revise your notes whenever she shows up.”

“Alright! Hope you two enjoy the prom!” Entrapta happily stated before waving them both off and returning to her princessly duties.

Glimmer lingered with the other ‘heroes of the Great War’ for a time, but it wasn’t the same without Catra and Adora. Eventually she decided to wander off for a bit - a dangerous decision in Dryll - away from her friends and the noise of the party. As she walked, the weight of the small wooden box she carried with her became more and more present in her mind. The weight of what she carried inside it.

“What you doing here, Jellybean?” Catra’s voice snapped her back to reality and almost gave her a heart attack.

“What did I tell you about astral projections?” Glimmer shouted.

“Only do it when you’re alone, wear clothes and warn first.” Catra listed off “I’ve been poking at your mind for like half an hour. What got you so worried that you couldn’t hear me literally inside your brain?”

“Wait! You didn’t see anything while you were there, right?” Glimmer asked, more than a little worried.

“Relax. I know to respect your privacy.” Catra’s astral projection leaned closer as she spoke, “Are you that worried that I’ll miss the party?”

“No!” Glimmer answered quickly, too quickly.

“Aww, babe, you could’ve just told me.” Catra said, partially caring for and partially mocking her girlfriend. “If I knew you missed me that much I would’ve shown up hours ago...and then mercilessly teased you in person. Speaking of which, you should probably start making your way to the ballroom again soon.” And just like that she disappeared. Glimmer hated when she did that.

By the time she finally go back to the ballroom she could hear the announcer robot listing off Adora’s many many titles as Adora herself just awkwardly stood there, hoping the bot would be done soon so she could hangout with her friends. Etheria’s great savior was looking quite dashing in her new white, red and gold dress, but all Glimmer could look at was her plus one.

Even bored as she clearly was Catra held herself with a distant grace, like she was of a royalty even greater than that of the princesses around her. Her long black dress was sewn to be almost an exact copy of Glimmer’s sparkly purple one and it fluttered with a wind that wasn’t really there - clearly the work of one of her spells - and as the robot approached the end of his long welcome, Catra glided towards it with grace and whispered something.

“Approaching now: High sorceress of Mystacor, hero of the Great War and consort to the princess regent of Brightmoon,” That last announcement earning her more than a few gasps “Catra of the Fright Zone.” And with that Catra dropped her high and mighty stance and bolted for Glimmer.

“Catra!” Glimmer warned.

“What? I showed up as soon as I could.”

“And you also made a scene as soon as you could!” Glimmer continued.

“It’s not like all the important people didn’t already know we are fucking.” Catra said nonchalantly.

“That is not the point. Why would you even…Did you seriously just do that because you got jealous of Adora’s many titles?” Glimmer asked, already knowing the answer.

“What? When have I ever done something just because Adora made me jealous?” Catra joked. “Don’t answer that.”

“I can’t believe I fell in love with an idiot like you.” Glimmer groaned, but her stern face soon melted away as her and Catra laughed at their own silly exchange.

“I love you too, Glimmer.” Catra eventually answered, before giving her girlfriend a quick kiss.

The rest of their night had been a lot more enjoyable than either of them expected. No one was kidnapped, nothing exploded, and they got to spend some good time together with their friends. Were it not for that little wooden box that kept weighting in the back of her mind.

“Ah crap, I think I dropped something.” Catra proclaimed, overly dramatically as the party slowly approached its end. “A shame we’re not allowed to use magic. I guess I’ll have to get it the old fashioned way.” And just like that Catra dropped to one knee, but her hands did not reach for anything on the ground. Instead they began to search through her dress.

Realization dawned on Glimmer and she quickly exclaimed, “You are not doing this to me right now!”

“Doing what?” Catra asked, looking very confused.

“You are not proposing to me at the Princess Prom!” Glimmer proclaimed as she herself began to look through her dress pockets. “I’m proposing to you and you’re not taking that from me!” 

“You’re what?” Catra asked, jumping to her feet.

“Here!” Glimmer almost shouted as she finally found the box she had been carrying with her. “Did you know how long it took to convince my mom to let me use her old engagement ring? Months!” She opened the box to reveal a small ring made of perfectly smooth white stone. It had been magically removed from the Moonstone and given this shape by one of the first princesses of Brightmoon and was only to be used as a show of true undying love.

Catra looked at her stunned. Glimmer was growing more uncomfortable the more Catra stared, so she tried to break through the awkward silence that had formed. “So hmm...Sunshine, will you marry me?” It was much more stilted than the many times she had practiced, but she finally got it out of her.

Catra took a small box from out of her dress, taking a simple ring out of it before casually tossing it out of a nearby window and placing her ring in Glimmer’s hand. “Yes! Absolutely yes!” She answered, diving for her now-fiancee’s arms and gave her a long and loving kiss. “Our friends are gonna go crazy when we tell them the news.”

“No need to tell us. Now say cheese!” They heard Entrapta’s voice followed by a bright white light. When their eyes recovered from the sudden flash they could see all their friends around them smiling, cheering and crying - Bow was mostly handling the crying on his own.

“We got here late because I had to drag her out of her room to come propose to you.” Adora explained.

“And I thought you had stopped betraying my trust, Adora.” Catra said in mock seriousness. Most of their friends got quiet after her accusation, but the three of them couldn’t help but laugh.

Glimmer still couldn’t believe this. The last few years had been the most insane roller coaster she could ever imagine. With friends like these she knew that ride wasn’t stopping anytime soon, and now she knew she would get to share that ride with the woman she loved.

And as the night went on, Catra and Glimmer laughed louder and smiled brighter than anyone there, because after all the suffering they had both been through they could finally say that they were truly happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Ugh. I'm her fiancee"
> 
> And that is the end of our little story. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I want to thank everyone for reading, commenting and leaving kudos. This is the first long fic I finish and I would not have done this without you guys to motivate me.
> 
> I may revisit this setting later and add some fluffy and/or smutty followup fics, but I make no promises.
> 
> Also quick reminder that if you like my brand of humor and angst you should definitely visit shera-dnd.tumblr.com for more quality SPOP content

**Author's Note:**

> I wonder why Glimmer just trusted Catra like that...oh wait, I spoiled that on the tags


End file.
